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THE 


FOREIGNER  IN  CHINA. 


BY 


L.  N.  WHEELER,  D.D. 


WITH  INTRODUCTION  BY  PROF.  W.  C.  SAWYER,  PH.D. 


CHICAGO: 

S.  C.  GRIGGS    AND    COMPANY. 
1881. 


Copyright,  1881, 
By  S.  C.  GRIGGS  &  COMPANY. 


TO 

THE  HON.  S.  WELLS  WILLIAMS,  LL.D. 

WHOSE   STERLING    CHRISTIAN   CHARACTER 

AND   EMINENT   SERVICES 

IN  DIPLOMACY 

AND   IN   VARIOUS  DEPARTMENTS  OF  ORIENTAL   LEARNING 

ENTITLE   HIM 

TO  THE  GRATITUDE   AND   ADMIRATION  ALIKE 

OP   HIS  COUNTRYMEN; 

AND  WHO   IS   WARMLY   REMEMBERED 

AS   FRIEND  AND   NEIGHBOR 

DURING   FOUR  YEARS'  RESIDENCE   IN   THE 

CHINESE  CAPITAL, 

THIS   VOLUME   IS 

RESPECTFULLY   INSCRIBED   BY 

THE  AUTHOR. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction 11 

CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY   DATES. 

Origin  of  the  Chinese  —  Progress  of  the  empire  —  The  myth- 
ical Fuh-hi  —  The  first  emperors  —  The  prodigious  labors 
of  Yu  —  The  population  2,000  B.C.— The  Hia,  Shang, 
Chaou,  and  Tsin  dynasties  —  The  Great  Wall  — The  burn- 
ing of  the  books  —  The  modern  period  in  Chinese  his- 
tory—  Introduction  of  Boodhism  —  A  popular  religion  — 
An  illustrious  monk  —  An  ignoble  priest  —  A  period  of 
persecution  —  The  faith  established 23-33 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   EAST   AND  WEST. 

The  arts  and  inventions  common  to  all  countries  —  Chinese 
astronomy  borrowed  from  India  or  Bactrfa  —  Paper  and 
printing  —  Gunpowder — Jesuits  teach  the  Chinese  the 
manufacture  of  cannon  —  The  knowledge  of  iron  comes 
from  the  West  —  Silk  manufacture  —  The  mariner's  com- 
pass—  The  Old  Testament  and  the  Shoo-king  —  Chinese 
travelers  visit  Persia  —  Rome  and  Peking  —  Arabian  trav- 
elers—  The  marvelous  career  of  Marco  Polo  —  China  and 
the  discovery  of  America  —  Portugal,  Great  Britain,  and 
Russia,  in  contact  with  China  —  Mohammedanism  —  A 
Jewish  colony 34-46 

CHAPTER  111. 

TROI  BLOUfl  TIMES. 

Tendency  to  a  Avar  of  races  —  Native  arrogance  —  The  Portu- 
guese outrage — Freebooting  expedition  of  Mendes  Pinto 
—  The  first  Portuguese  embassy  —  Alfouso  de  Melo  —  The 


6  CONTENTS. 

Macao  settlement — Spanish  oppression  of  the  Chinese 
in  Manila— The  Dutch  established  in  Formosa  —  Their 
exclusive  policy  —  The  struggle  with  Koshinga —  A 
modern  Regulus  —  The  abandonment  of  Formosa  —  Eng- 
lish broadsides  in  Canton  river  —  English  grievances  — 
Strife  among  Europeans — Turbulent  sailors.       .     .     .     47-59 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  FORTUNES  OF  DIPLOMACY. 

The  unsuccessful  attempt  of  Great  Britain  —  Dutch  commis- 
sioners at  the  court  of  the  first  Manchoo  emperor  —  No 
adequate  consular  authority — Trade  in  peril  —  Col.  Cath- 
cart's  mission— Earl  Macartney  sent  to  Peking — The  im- 
perial dignity  —  Court  ceremonials  —  His  Excellency  de- 
clines to  perform  the  kotow — The  embassy  a  failure — The 
Batavian  commission — The  American  consulate — The 
East  India  Company  negotiate  with  the  governor  —  Lord 
Amherst  appears  at  Peking  —  His  exit  —  Provincial  in- 
trigues successful  —  An  imperial  letter  to  the  Prince  Regent 
of  England  —  Important  epoch.     . 60-72 

CHAPTER  V. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  OPIUM  AVAR. 

The  question  of  free  trade  — Appointment  of  Lord  Napier  — 
Unique  character  of  his  mission  —  Injudicious  conduct 
of  the  superintendent  —  His  death  —  Chinese  and  English 
characteristics  —  Origin  and  progress  of  smuggling  in 
opium  — Memorials  to  the  throne  on  the  subject  of  opium 
— The  emperor  resolves  to  execute  the  laws  against  that 
drug  —  Foreigners  at  Canton  interfere  with  a  public  execu- 
tion—  Captain  Elliot  —  Commissioner  Lin — The  demand 
for  the  surrender  of  opium  —  Its  destruction  by  the  gov- 
ernment— Trade  interdicted —The  appeal  to  arms.       .      73-87 

CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   WAR  AND   ITS  RESULTS. 

The  capture  of  Ting-hai  —  The  blockade  — Negotiations  at 
Canton  — The  proposed  sacrifice  to  the  god  of  war  — The 


CONTENTS.  7 

disgrace  of  Lin  —  Canton  ransomed  from  the  English  — 
Fall  of  Amoy,  Chin-hai,  Ningpo,  and  Cha-pu — Valiant 
Tartars — Two  Chinese  generals  in  contrast  —  Native  sang- 
froid— The  assault  on  Chin-kiang-fu  —  A  scene  of  horror 
—  Nanking  invested — The  treaty  —  A  conference  on  the 
subject  of  opium  —  Honors  from  the  Queen  — The  im- 
perial displeasure — The  stipulations  ratified  and  carried 
into  effect  —  A  remarkable  state  paper  —  Supplementary 
treaty — Various  nations  seek  intercourse  with  China  — 
Mission  of  Caleb  Cushing  — The  French  treaty — Recovery 
from  the  effects  of  the  war  —  Barriers  broken  down  — A 
peace  offering 88-103 

CHAPTER   VII. 

RENEWAL   OP   HOSTILITIES — THE   NORTH  CHINA   CAMPAIGN. 

Foreigners  excluded  from  Canton  —  The  British  flag  insulted  — 
Anglo-French  alliance — Attitude  of  Russia  and  the  United 
States  —  The  Capture  of  Canton  —  A  foreign  squadron  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Pei-ho  —  The  negotiations  of  Tien-tsin  — 
Defeat  of  the  allies  at  Ta-koo  —  The  breath  of  Mars  — 
Capture  of  the  outer  forts  —  A  sharp  battle  —  Curious 
Chinese  documents  —  The  fall  of  Ta-koo  and  Tien-tsin  — 
A  foreigner's  opinion  of  Chinese  prowess — "San-ko-lin- 
sin's  folly" — The  desolations  of  war 104-118 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BELEAGUERED  CAPITAL. 

Its  early  history  —  The  environments  —  The  city  walls,  tem- 
ples, palace,  etc. —  The  allies'  approach  —  Treatment  of  a 
funeral  procession  —  Flight  of  the  emperor  —  Storming  of 
the  summer  palace  —  The  work  of  spoliation  —  Scenes  in 
the  grand  imperial  reception  hall  —  The  emperor's  bed- 
room—  Wanton  destruction  of  property  —  Sale  of  an  em- 
peror's effects  — Preparations  for  Hie  attack— Surrender 
of  the  An-ting  gate  —  Indignation  in  the  camp  —  The  sum- 
mer palace  laid  in  ashes  —  Exchange  of  ratifications  — 
A  banquet  —  The  Te  JJetrm 1 ID-133 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
ROMAN  CATHOLIC  MISSIONS. 
The  ascetic  Tamo  — Monks  and  Hie  silkworm  —  Nestorian- 
isin  —  Francis  Xavicr  —  Valignano  —  Kicci  —  Paul  Siu  and 
Candida— The  first  persecution  — Scbaal  — The  Manchoo 
dynasty  — A  Chinese  Constantine  the  Great  —  A  Jesuit  be- 
comes president  of  the  astronomical  board  —  The  second 
persecution — Verbiest  —  The  missions  prosperous  under 
Kang-hi  —  The  fatal  controversy  — The  glory  of  the  Jesuits 
departed  —  Martyrs  of  the  faith  —  Catholic  and  pagan 
idolatry  —  The  sciences  and  propagandise — Papal  as- 
sumption—  Modern  success  —  The  old  antagonisms  to  be 
renewed  in  China 134-150 

CHAPTER  X. 

PROTESTANT  MISSIONS. 

Robert  Morrison  —  His  call  and  preparation  —  Arrival  in 
China  —  The  difficulties  encountered  —  Becomes  translator 
to  the  East  India  Company  —  His  labors  and  death  — 
William  Milne  — E.  C.  Bridgman  —  Father  of  the  Ameri- 
can mission  —  Dr.  Lockhart  —  The  great  missionary  move- 
ment of  1842  —  Caleb  Cushing's  tribute  to  missionaries  — 
S.  Wells  Williams  —  The  Chinese  Repository  — The  dele- 
gates'version  of  the  Bible  —  Other  versions  —  Extensive 
circulation  of  the  Scriptures  —  Improvement  in  the  print- 
ing art  —  Christian  Chinese  literature  —  Christian  schools 
—  Medical  missions  —  Public  preaching  — The  Pauline 
method 151-169 

CHAPTER  XI. 

HINDRANCES  TO   EVANGELISM. 

Nature  of  the  language  —  Embarrassments  in  communicating 
evangelical  thought  —  A  question  of  terms  —  The  national 
vanity  —  Influence  of  modern  civilization  overrated  —  An 
obtuse  mandarin  —  The  universal  ignorance — "A  Death- 
blow to  Corrupt  Doctrines" — "Expulsion  of  the  non- 
human  species" — Popular  stories  about  the  adherents  of 


CONTENTS.  y 

Christianity  — Popular  superstition  — A  city  struck  with 
terror  — Missionary  with  a  bottle  lull  of  demons  — Char- 
acteristics of  Chinese  superstition  —  The  gospel  preacher 
misunderstood  —  Foreign  vices  — Native  estimate  of  for- 
eign character  —  Debate  in  a  chapel  —  An  emperor's  view 
of  the  opium  quest-ion  — The  famine  —  Dr.  Legge's  dis- 
cussion with  a  mandarin  —  The  political  view  —  An  Eng- 
lishman's arraignment  of  his  countiy 170-199 

CHAPTER  XII. 

PROTESTANT   MISSIONS   NOT   A   FAILURE. 

Criticism  from  a  mercenary  standpoint  —  The  standard  of  suc- 
cess— UA  patient  pursuit  of  results" — Three  classes  of 
foreigners  in  China  —  The  merchants  —  Their  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  introduce  new  articles  of  trade  —  The  golden 
days  of  commerce  in  the  past  —  The  officials  —  The  fail- 
ures of  diplomacy  —  The  famous  revision  controversy  — 
The  legations  at  Peking  — The  missionaries  —  Pioneer 
work  —  Church  organizations  — The  Synod  of  China  — 
The  first  annual  conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  —  North  China  mission  of  the  American  Board  — 
Tract  Society  —  Shanghai  Missionary  Conference — "  Liv- 
ing Boodhas" —  Too  late  to  discuss  a  question  of  success 
or  non-success  —  Confucianism  tried  and  found  wanting  — 
The  time  of  the  evening  sacrifice 200-220 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  TI-PING    INSURRECTION. 

Origin  of  the  movement  —  The  God-worshipers  —  Hung  as  a 
seeker  after  truth  —  A  zealous  convert  —  Development  and 
growth  of  fanaticism — The  Eastern  and  Western  princes  — 
Iconoclasm  —  Takes  on  a  politico-religious  character  —  A 
British  squadron  and  the  pirates  —  The  Pun-te  and  the 
Kih-kea — Union  of  the  pirate  and  rebel  forces  — Divine 
right  of  rebellion  —  Decadence  of  the  empire  —  Proclama- 
tion of  the  Ti-pings— Female   rebel  chiefs  — Accessions 


10  CONTEXTS. 

from  the  Triad  Society  — Sublime  courage  of  the  leader  — 
Progress  of  the  insurrection  — The  Bible  adopted  as  a 
sacred  book — Religious  practices  and  organizations  — 
Morning  devotions  — Occupation  of  Nanking  — Movement 
toward  the  northern  capital  —  Disastrous  end  of  a  brilliant 
campaign  —  Foreigners  take  part  against  the  Ti  pings  — 
The  last  hope  of  the  Heavenly  Dynasty  expires  —  The  rebel 
chief  commits  suicide  —  His  son  put  to  death  —  The  im- 
perial edict     221-237 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

OCCIDENTAL  LIFE  IN  THE  ORIENT. 

The  "Paris  of  China"  —  A  cathedral  —  The  foreign  settle- 
ment—  The  island  of  Hong-Kong  —  Harbor  and  ship- 
ping—  A  mixed  population  —  Street  scenes  —  Sources  of 
culture  and  amusement  —  Exiles  from  home  —  The  last 
resting-place  —  Shanghai — The  foreign  city — Various  open 
ports — A  barbarous  .  Anglo-Chinese  dialect  —  Unhappy 
breach  between  merchants  and  missionaries  —  The  im- 
perial customs  under  Robert  Hart  —  Light-houses  —  The 
arsenal  at  Kiang-nan —Government  works  under  foreign 
direction  at  Foo-chow  —  Account  of  their  origin  and  re- 
markable progress  — The  foreign  drill-master  —  The  civil 
service  reform  —  Government  schools  at  Canton  and 
Shanghai  —  The  imperial  college  —  The  educational  mis- 
sion to  America  —  Introduction  of  various  western  im- 
provements—  A  progressive  mandarin  —  Origin  of  the 
Burlingame  Mission  —  The  foreign  ministers  admitted  to 
audience  —  The  strength  and  future  progress  of  Western 
ideas  — Our  Chinese  policy 238-261 


INTRODUCTION. 


/CIVILIZATION,  in  its  westward  march  from  the  old 
^-^^  Asiatic  home,  has  at  last  compassed  the  entire  globe, 
and  the  youngest  nation  is  now  next  neighbor  to  the  oldest. 
Centuries  after  China  had  attained  to  about  its  present 
advancement,  our  fathers  were  still  nomadic  and  barbar- 
ous, sacrificing  human  beings  to  the  sun  and  moon,  or  wor- 
shiping Wodan  and  his  wife  Frea  and  Thor  and  Tyr  — 
whom  we  commemorate  in  our  names  of  the  days  of  the 
week.  But  ancestor-worship  has  held  the  Chinese  people 
stationary  for  more  than  two  thousand  years,  nothing 
higher  than  the  standard  already  attained  by  their  fathers 
seeming  to  them  desirable  or  possible.  In  the  meantime, 
the  tribes  that  migrated  from  the  cradle  of  mankind  into 
Europe,  carrying  with  them  very  little  besides  their  rude 
weapons  and  an  uncultivated  language,  have  set  up  and 
overthrown  empires?  and  formed  new  languages,  philoso- 
phies, and  faiths,  some  of  which  endure  to  our  own  day, 
and  some  of  which  have  perished  from  the  earth.  So  that, 
notwithstanding  'this  early  superiority  of  the  Chinese,  it 
is  said  that  they  are  now  our  moral  as  well  as  geographical 
antipodes.  A  large  probability  of  the  former  contrast  we 
could  view  complacently,  if  we  were  only  assured  that  the 
actuality  of  the  latter  would  be  permanent.  But  when 
our  ears  are  growing  familiar  with  "  Pigeon-English,"  and 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

our  eyes  with  the  c[iieue  and  flowing  robes  of  the  Mon- 
golian,  we  are  forcibly  admonished  to  investigate  the  merits 
of  this  oriental  civilization  and  its  relation  to  our  own. 

Questions  into  which  politics  enter  are  usually  discussed 
with  so  much  partizan  feeling  in  this  countiy  as  to  afford 
tlif  people  very  little  trustworthy  information.  Of  this 
character  are  the  discussions  of  the  merits  of  presidential 
candidates,  of  the  policy  of  protecting  native  industries, 
and  notably  of  the  duty  of  our  government  toward  the 
Chinese  who  come  to  our  shores. 

To  escape  as  far  as  possible  from  that  partizanship 
which  vitiates  so  much  of  our  reasoning,  we  must  go  to 
China  for  our  witnesses  upon  some  of  the  chief  questions 
that  here  concern  us,  though  the  Americans  are  but  few 
who  know  anything  about  China  from  personal  observation. 
Our  witnesses  should  also  have  considerable  familiarity 
with  the  Chinese  language;  for  a  language  mirrors  forth 
the  mind  of  its  framers,  and  we  study  a  people  to  a  great 
disadvantage  if  we  do  not  both  read  their  literature  and 
commune  with  them  by  the  living  voice.  The  literature 
is  the  ultimate  appeal  concerning  intellectual  development 
and  the  higher  forms  of  thought.  Of  similar  importance 
is  the  oral  communication  with  the  people  themselves. 
Even  prolonged  residence  and  h-avel  in  a  country  yield 
but  meager  and  often  mistaken  views  and  impressions, 
provided  the  queries  constantly  arising  at  the  sight  of 
strange  places  and  strange  customs  can  find  no  expression 
and  no  solution  save  in  the  random  guess  so  often  indulged 
in  and    published   to   the   astonishment  of   everybody  ac- 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

quainted  with  the  facts.  Upon  this  kind  of  writing  by- 
tourists  must  Sir  Henry  Maine  rest  his  objections  to  the 
tales  of  travelers,  against  which  he  warns  the  public. 

As  regards  the  above  qualification,  the  author  of  the 
work  before  us,  Mr.  Lucius  N.  Wheeler,  is  thoroughly  quali- 
fied to  speak  on  all  Chinese  matters.  He  was  appointed 
missionary  to  China  in  1865,  and  remained  there  until 
1873,  when  failing  health  compelled  his  return.  Soon 
after  his  arrival  in  China  he  took  charge  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission  Press  at  Foochow.  In  1867  he  founded 
"  The  Missionary  Recorder,1'  a  monthly  paper  containing 
a  wide  range  of  original  miscellany  touching  the  character 
and  history  of  the  native  languages,  the  moral  and  physical 
condition  of  the  people,  and  the  various  methods  of  propa- 
gating truth.  This  publication  afterward  changed  its  name 
to  "  The  Chinese  Recorder  and  Missionary  Journal,"  and 
has  continued  until  this  day  under  the  editorial  super- 
vision of  able  men.  It  circulates  among  English  readers 
in  the  various  open  ports  of  China  and  Siam,  as  also  in 
Japan  and  India.  Shanghai  is  its  present  place  of  publi- 
cation. Soon  after  the  establishment  of  this  paper,  Mr. 
Wheeler  removed  to  Peking,  where  he  was  the  first  repre- 
sentative of  his  Church  in  the  capacity  of  missionary  to 
that  important  center,  serving  four  years  as  superintendent 
of  the  Mission.  He  preached  in  the  native  language, 
edited  and  published  a  "  Directory  of  Protestant  Missions 
in  China,"  also  the  "Anglo-Chinese  Almanac  and  Miscel- 
lany," translated  a  catechism  into  the  Court  dialect,  and 
assisted  in  the  preparation  of  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal 
hymn-book  in  the  same  dialect. 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

Under  the  excellent  opportunities  thus  afforded  him, 
Mr.  Wheeler  studied  not  only  the  Chinese  people,  but  also, 
by  means  of  both  the  written  and  spoken  language,  their 
history  and  traditions,  together  with  the  history  of  all  the 
forces  that  have  penetrated  China  from  the  outside  world. 
He  gives  us  here  the  mature  fruit  of  that  study,  embracing 
considerable  matter  of  interest  and  historic  value  which 
has  never  before  been  given  to  the  general  public.  Though 
we  might  expect  the  story  of  "The  Foreigner  in  China" 
to  be  very  short  on  account  of  the  proverbial  exclusive- 
ness  of  the  race,  yet  we  find  here  not  only  numerous  chap- 
ters of  the  record  of  his  doings,  but  thrilling  interest  as 
well,  tending  to  rouse  feelings  of  indignation  or  sympathy, 
—  and  the  indignation  is  not  always  against  the  conceited 
Celestials.  Nevertheless,  the  following  pages  show  every 
evidence  of  candor  and  fairness,  even  where  the  feelings 
might  be  sufficiently  moved  to  affect  the  correct  working 
of  the  judgment. 

The  light  contributed  in  this  work  finds  practical  ap- 
plication beyond  the  pleasure  of  the  reading  and  the  mere 
acquaintance  with  a  new  race,  which  is  at  the  same  time 
a  very  old  one,  in  the  adjustment  of  the  relations  of  the 
Chinese  foreigner  in  the  United  States. 

A  cry  has  been  raised  that  "  myriads  of  millions "  in 
China  threaten  to  overrun  our  western  continent,  degrade 
our  blood,  corrupt  our  morals,  and  leave  us  no  room  to 
develop  our  ideals  of  government,  of  science,  and  of  re- 
ligion. In  1879  these  perils  seemed  so  imminent  that  a 
large  majority  of  our  congressmen,  for  the  sake  of  rescu- 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

ing  a  supposed  birthright,  were  willing  to  violate  the 
stipulations  of  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
China.  Treaty  obligations  without  doubt  should  be  sacred 
in  the  eyes  of  all  citizens  who  would  not  themselves  vio- 
late a  promise  to  pay  to  which  they  have  appended  their 
signatures.  From  a  breach  of  faith  of  this  nature,  and 
the  consequent  national  disgrace,  we  were  saved  by  the 
timely  veto  of  President  Hayes.  We  have  thus  gained 
time  to  reconsider  the  grounds  of  the  panic  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  to  secure  by  a  change  of  treaty  the  right  to 
regulate  the  immigration  of  the  Chinese. 

The  right  of  expatriation  was  solemnly  affirmed  by  both 
parties  to  the  Burlingame  treaty,  and  our  congress,  at 
about  the  same  time,  declared  that  any  impairment  or 
questioning  of  the  right  would  be  "  inconsistent  with  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Republic."  The  Angell 
treaty,  or  the  new  treaty,  grants  to  our  timidity  the 
privilege  of  impairing  the  Chinaman's  right  of  expatriation. 

But  while  this  stipulation  is  valuable  chiefly  in  what 
it  saved  us  of  possible  violations  of  international  law, 
another  article  of  the  same  treaty  commits  us  to  the 
support  of  a  plain  moral  principle  which  will  cost  us 
some  commercial  losses,  but  which  in  the  past  has  been 
trampled  upon  for  the  sake  of  commercial  advantages  by 
the  unchristian  representatives  of  christian  states.  The 
history  of  the  opium  trade  with  China,  as  fairly  presented 
in  this  volume,  places  the  opium  war  among  the  greatest 
outrages  that  disgrace  the  christian  name.  The  new  treaty 
engages  that  we  will  not  transport  opium  to  China  or  sell 


16  INTROniTTION. 

it  there.  Some  of  our  merchants  complain  of  this  pro- 
vision, the  possibility  of  which  complaint  indicates  how 
sore  was  the  need  of  the  stipulation.  The  whole  christian 
world,  however,  will  be  profoundly  thankful  that  at  last 
the  treaty  making  regarding  the  opium  traffic  with  China 
lias  fallen  into  the  hands  of  "  men  unused  to  business," 
provided  all  the  merchants,  like  those  who  have  thrust 
upon  China  the  opium  curse,  are  unable  to  do  right  in 
full  view  of  an  opportunity  to  get  great  gain  by  doing 
wrong.  It  will  at  least  be  impossible  for  any  reader  of 
this  book  to  repeat  the  injustice  of  a  misinformed  Ameri- 
can writer,  who  added  to  the  injury  of  forcing  opium 
upon  the  Chinese  with  bayonets  and  batteries  the  insult 
of  charging  upon  their  government  that  "  all  the  pre- 
tended virtue  and  horror  for  its  use  is  put  on  for  polit- 
ical effect. " 

The  feature  of  the  recent  treaty,  however,  which  spe- 
cially meets  the  public  interest  among  Americans,  is  con- 
cerning the  right  to  regulate  Chinese  immigration.  Since 
this  right  has  been  conceded  to  us,  it  is  now  incumbent 
upon  us  to  address  ourselves  to  the  task  of  discovering 
the  bearings  of  this  immigration  upon  our  national  pros- 
perity. We  need  not,  for  this  purpose,  enter  upon  any 
questions  that  bear  with  equal  or  greater  force  upon  the 
immigration  from  Ireland  or  Germany,  for  these  are  not 
in  the  indictment  brought  against  the  Chinese,  though  it 
is  not  impossible  that  some  charges  of  this  class  might 
be  urged  with  even  greater  justice  and  force  than  those 
which  we  hear  oftenest. 


LNTBODUCTIOH.  17 

The  desire  on  the  part  of  the  sand-lotters  and  hood- 
lums to  have  all  the  Chinese  who  have  come  to  the  United 
States  go  home  and  stay  there  is  heartily  reciprocated 
by  the  Chinese,  with  the  single  and  not  unreasonable  pro- 
vision that  the  Americans  who  have  gone  to  China  should 
do  the  same.  The  following  are  the  exact  terms  of  a  part 
of  a  proposition  laid  before  »the  Board  of  Supervisors  of 
the  City  of  San  Francisco  in  1873: 

"  We  propose  a  speedy  and  perfect  abrogation  and  re- 
peal of  the  present  treaty  relations  between  China  and 
America,  requiring  the  retirement  of  all  Chinese  people 
and  Irade  from  these  United  States,  and  the  withdrawing  of 
all  American  people  and  trade  and  commercial  intercourse 
whatever  from  China."  Somewhat  similar  is  a  passage  in 
the  memorial  of  the  presidents  of  the  Six  Companies  to 
President  Grant: 

"  But,  if  the  Chinese  are  considered  detrimental  to  the 
best  interest  of  this  country,  and  if  our  presence  here  is 
offensive  to  the  American  people,  let  there  be  a  modifica- 
tion of  existing  treaty  relations  between  China  and  the 
United  States,  either  prohibiting  or  limiting  further  Chinese 
immigration,  and,  if  desirable,  requiring  also  the  gradual 
retirement  of  the  Chinese  people,  now  here,  from  this 
country.  Such  an  arrangement,  though  not  without  em- 
barrassments to  both  parties,  we  believe,  would  not  be  al- 
together unacceptable  to  the  Chinese  government,  and 
doubtless  it  would  be  very  acceptable  to  a  certain  clas 
of  people  in  this  honorable  country." 

The  political  inconsistency  ami   moral  cowardice  of  this 
1* 


18  [NTBODUOTIOSr. 

opposition  on  t ho  part  of  about  fifty  millions  of  Ameri- 
cans from  all  parts  of  the  globe,  to  the  hundred  thousand 
of  peaceable  and  industrious  Chinese  that  have  come  to 
earn  a  livelihood  in  our  midst,  is  entirely  overshadowed 
by  i  he  economical  rashness  of  the  measure.  What  people 
in  history  ever  drove  away  any  number  of  their  laboring 
class  without  suffering  conspicuously  for  their  folly?  The 
Chinese  are  not  much  like  the  Huguenots,  but  if  we  ex- 
pel them  from  our  country,  the  people  of  San  Francisco 
will  better  understand  the  value  of  the  Huguenots  to 
France,  of  the  Puritans  to  England,  and  of  the  emanci- 
pated negroes  to  the  South. 

The  very  matter-of-fact  plaintiff  in  this  case  is  not  dis- 
turbed by  any  Chinese  fondness  for  ancestral  cemeteries, 
or  by  their  peculiarities  of  tailoring  and  of  sprinkling 
clothes.  I  think  I  may  add,  without  any  injustice,  that 
he  is  not  generally  impatient  at  the  slowness  with  which 
they  take  on  our  education  or  our  religion.  His  chief 
alarm  seems  to  be  caused  by  the  fact  that  the  yellow 
man  will  work  for  lower  wages  than  the  white  man,  and 
that  thus  the  price  of  labor  is  depressed. 

What  would  be  the  consequence  of  a  reduction  of  say 
thirty  per  cent,  in  the  price  of  labor  in  this  country? 
Evidently  the  employer  will  have  larger  profits,  and  con- 
sequently more  capital,  and  will  then  seek  more  laborers 
so  as  to  employ  his  increased  capital.  When  he  thus  re- 
duces the  excess  of  laborers,  he  will  have  to  pay  more 
wages  in  order  to  secure  laborers  enough  to  employ  all 
his  capital.  The  increased  wages  will  in  turn  reduce  the 
profits  of  his  business,  and  thus  maintain  an  equilibrium 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

between  the  supply  and  demand  in  labor,  as  in  anything 
else.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  Chinaman  will  refuse 
to  profit  by  the  capital  he  has  created  or  the  skill  he  has 
acquired. 

But  will  not  the  white  competitor  suffer  in  his  personal 
interests  during  the  temporary  depression?  If  he  did,  it 
would  do  him  no  injustice,  for  he  came  here  and  depressed 
wages  in  the  same  way  himself.  But  it  is  demonstrated  as 
a  good  answer  to  the  above  complaint,  that  there  is  no 
cheap  labor  in  California,  and  that  the  urgent  need  of  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  Pacific  coast  is  cheaper 
labor,  so  that  they  can  manufacture  their  own  products 
instead  of  sending  them  east  to  a  point  where  labor  is 
cheaper.  The  facts  go  to  show  that  the  white  man's  wages 
are  not  depressed,  nor  the  difficulty  of  finding  employment 
increased,  by  the  presence  of  the  Chinese.  In  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Southern  Pacific  railroad,  we  are  assured  by 
the  vice-president  of  the  road  that  as  Chinamen  were  not 
good  teamsters  or  bridge  builders  or  overseers,  white  men 
were  given  those  employments  at  twice  the  pay  of  the 
Chinamen  —  no  white  laborer  who  wanted  work  being  re- 
fused. Such  pay  would  have  been  impossible  if  the  Chi- 
nese had  not  taken  the  brunt  of  the  work.  The  superin- 
tendent of  construction  of  the  Central  Pacific  testified  be- 
fore the  congressional  committee  that  when  sufficient  white 
labor  could  not  be  employed  he  hired  a  large  force  of 
Chinese,  and  after  that  three  times  as  many  white  men 
were  hired  as  could  be  found  before.  We  are  reminded 
of  the  cry,  when  railroads  were  first  introduced,  that 
horses    would    be   thrown   out   of   use   and   become   almost 


20  l  \  l  RODl  I   I  ION. 

worthless  on  our  hands.  Whatever  excuse  may  then  have 
existed  for  such  ignorance  of  economical  science,  there  can 
be  very  little  now. 

It",  however,  this  plea  against  the  Chinese  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  laborer  will  not  hold,  will  not  this 
other,  so  much  used  by  the  "  statesmen "  of  the  Pacific 
coast,  namely,  that  the  Chinaman  tends  to  impoverish  the 
country  by  carrying  a  portion  of  his  earnings  to  China? 
Is  it  not  still  true  that  half  a  loaf,  or  any  other  fraction, 
is  better  than  no  bread?  Suppose  one  of  these  men 
should  remain  but  a  single  day  in  this  country,  and  at 
night  should  take  his  dollar,  more  or  less,  and  pay  twenty- 
five  cents  for  his  board,  and  start  for  China?  Has  he  then 
robbed  us  of  seventy-five  cents?  Let  us  see.  The  man 
who  employed  him  and  paid  him  one  dollar  was  not  actu- 
ated by  love  for  the  laborer,  but  by  love  of  gain,  and 
for  the  dollar  paid  out  he  received  of  real  wealth  the 
equivalent  of  a  dollar  and  a  quarter.  The  boarding-house 
keeper  gained  something  also,  having  received  twenty-five 
cents  for  what  cost  him  fifteen.  The  account  therefore 
between  the  parties  will  stand  as  follows: 

John  Chinaman,  in  account  witli  the  United  States. 

DR. 

To  cash  for  labor $1  00 

To  actual  cost  of  food 15 

f  1  15 

CR. 

By  one  day's  labor $1  25 

By  cash  paid  for  board 25 

$1  50 

Balance  left  in  the  United  States 35 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  instead  of  the  Chinaman's  hav- 
ing taken  seventy-five  cents  out  of  the  United  States,  leav- 
ing no  equivalent,  the  United  States  has  taken  thirty-five 
cents  out  of  the  Chinaman,  and  is  at  least  that  much  better 
off  for  his  having  come.  If,  however,  beyond  the  simple 
transactions  supposed,  the  laborer  purchases  clothing,  rides 
on  the  railroad,  provides  himself  a  home,  or  deposits  his 
savings  in  a  bank,  every  transaction  is  sure  to  increase 
the  advantage  of  the  United  States,  and  this  regardless  of 
the  cpuestion  whether  the  man  has  grown  rich  by  his  in- 
dustry and  frugality,  or  expended  his  earnings  for  beer 
and  whisky  like  so  many  of  his  whiter  enemies. 

It  should  also  be  noted  that  the  Chinese,  by  their 
greater  sobriety,  and  by  their  fashion  of  returning  to 
China  to  die,  when  no  longer  able  to  labor,  add  almost 
nothing  to  the  cost  of  our  penal  and  charitable  institu- 
tions, while  at  the  same  time  they  pay  their  taxes  and  all 
other  obligations  much  more  faithfully  and  promptly  than 
white  laborers. 

We  have  long  endured  the  immigration  of  Celts  and 
Teutons  at  a  rate  fifty  times  more  rapid  than  the  coming 
of  the  Celestials,  and  no  political  economist  would  dare 
to  say  that  we  should  be  better  off  without  them,  though 
they  have  made  it  almost  impossible  to  govern  New  York 
and  some  other  cities  even  respectably.  Strange  to  say, 
these  very  Celts  and  Teutons  are  the  men  whose  minds 
are  most  exercised  lest  we  shall  be  overrun  by  an  in- 
ferior race,  and  their  hoodlum  sons,  not  the  Chinese,  are 
the  disturbing  element  in  San    Francisco. 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

When  our  statesmen  dare  not  further  continue  the  ex- 
periment of  free  government,  much  as  we  have  conducted 
it  hitherto,  let  them  adopt  a  rational  protective  principle, 
and  apply  it  impartially, —  such,  for  instance,  as  an  educa- 
tional suffrage  cpaalification.  For  if  we  could  reduce  the 
power  of  the  very  ignorant  and  the  vicious  over  our  leg- 
islators, they  would  perhaps  devote  their  attention  to  the 
real  wants  and  dangers  of  our  country  instead  of  those 
that  are  imaginary. 

W.  C.  SAWYER. 
Lawrence  University, 

Appleton,  Wis.,  August  1881. 


THE  FOREIGNER  IN  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EARLY  DATES. 

f  I  THE  "  black-haired  race,"  whose  habitat  in  the  south- 
-*-  eastern  portion  of  Asia  abounds  in  beautiful  scenery 
and  natural  wealth  not  exceeded  by  any  other  land  under 
the  sun,  connect  their  history  with  times  almost  fabulously 
distant ;  and  European  writers  on  oriental  subjects,  al- 
though rejecting  the  evidently  vague  and  improbable  in 
their  chronology,  do  not  hesitate  to  concede  them  a  very 
high  degree  of  anticpuity. 

It  is  said  that  more  than  a  thousand  years  before  the 
founder  of  Rome  reared  his  hut  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber, 
China  had  fixed  the  seat  of  her  empire  and  had  laid  the 
foundations  of  her  futui-e  greatness.  While  Greece  was 
yet  divided  into  petty  and  hostile  states,  with  as  many 
monarchs  as  there  were  cities,  China  possessed  a  govern- 
ment whose  imperial  head  extended  his  sway  over  a  united 
people;  and  when  Europe  was  a  battle-field  for  barbarian 
hordes,  China  presented  many  of  the  aspects  of  a  great  and 
enlightened  nation  pursuing  the  arts  of  peace.  It  is  prob- 
able, however,  though  we  confess  it  reluctantly,  that  even 
these  more  moderate  claims  concerning  the  Chinese  chro- 
nology are  somewhat  enthusiastic  and  extravagant.* 

♦See  "Origin  of  the  Chinese,"  by  John  Chalmers,  A.M.,  pp,  t;:;-7;  alm>, 
"China  and  the  Gospel,"  by  Kev.  William  Muirhead,  pp.  ^'.t^  r>. 

33 


24  mi:    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

The  original  possession  of  the  Chinese  people,  so  far  as 
\\.'  are  able  to  ascertain,  was  the  southern  portion  of 
Chih-li,  tie'  province  in  which  the  present  capital  is  situ- 
ated, together  with  a  part  of  Shan-si.  How  the  founders 
of  the  nation  came  to  be  in  that  locality  is  one  of  those 
questions  connected  with  the  origin  and  spread  of  mankind 
about  which  we  can  only  conjecture.  A  parallelogram, 
extending  two  degrees  north  and  two  degrees  south  of  the 
35th  line  of  north  latitude,  thus  measuring  approximately 
north  and  south  250  miles,  and  east  and  west  600  miles, 
will  include  almost  all  that  part  of  China  where  we  have 
reason  to  believe  letters  were  cultivated  in  the  beginning 
of  the  Chaou  dynasty,  1000  b.c.  Confined  to  this  area,  net 
much  greater  than  that  of  the  British  Isles,  or  scarcely  one- 
-ixth  part  of  the  present  eighteen  provinces,  the  civilized 
people  of  this  Middle  Kingdom  were  hemmed  in  on  all  sides 
by  aboriginal  tribes.  These  untutored  sons  of  the  soil,  as 
time  progressed,  were  mixed  up  with  the  more  cultivated 
and  ruling  races,  sometimes  as  servants,  sometimes  as  dis- 
agreeable neighbors,  and  sometimes  as  allies.  A  native  his- 
torian describes  them  as  "mean  and  degraded  barbarians,  who 
held  no  communication  by  writing  with  superior  states"; 
but  be  excepts  the  Tsinites  on  the  west,  whose  ballads  have 
a  place  in  the  Book  of  Poetry  —  an  important  and  signifi- 
cant exception,  when  we  come  to  look  for  the  origin  of 
Chinese  civilization.  By  the  processes  of  military  conquest 
and  colonization  the  vigorous  and  united  people  of  the 
northwest  slowly  extended  their  territorial  possessions;  but 
not  until  about  two  hundred  years  before  Christ  was  the 
southern  portion  of  what  we  call  China  proper  brought 
under  subjection,  and  the  bulk  of  the  population  continued 
to  be  aboriginal,  or  non-Chinese,  for  a  long  time  after.    The 


EARLY    DATES.  25 

beginning  of  the  Tang  dynasty,  or  the  year  of  our  Lord 
618,  marks  the  period  of  substantial  and  final  conquest. 

A  succession  of  dynasties,  with  varying  fortunes,  illus- 
trious for  great  achievements  or  infamous  for  oppression 
and  cruelty,  arose  and  fell  during  the  ongoing  ages.  Fuh-hi 
appears  as  the  first  imperial  character;  but  we  must  rele- 
gate him,  with  his  mythical  deeds,  into  the  unwritten  past. 
Yaou  and  Shun  were  doubtless  real  men,  chiefs  of  the 
earliest  immigrants  into  China,  although  we  see  them 
through  the  mists  of  legend  and  of  philosophical  romance. 
Confucius  adopted  them  as  his  favorite  heroes,  endowed 
with  all  the  princely  virtues.*  Concerning  Shun's  acces- 
sion to  power,  the  following  data  are  gathered  from  the 
Shoo-King.  When  Yaou  had  been  on  the  throne  for  sev- 
enty years,  finding  the  cares  of  government  too  oppressive 
for  his  advanced  age,  he  proposed  to  resign  in  favor  of  his 
principal  minister,  the  "  Four  Mountains."  That  worthy 
declared  his  virtue  unequal  to  the  office,  but  recommended 
to  the  favor  of  his  august  master  "Shun  of  Yu,  an  un- 
married man  among  the  lower  people."  Of  a  family  in 
which  the  parents  were  obstinately  unprincipled  and  in- 
sincere, and  associated  with  a  brother  whose  arrogance  was 
a  perpetual  provocation,  he  had  been  able  by  his  filial  piety 
to  live  harmoniously  with  them,  and  bring  them  to  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  self-government  and  good  conduct.  The 
monarch  was  delighted,  but  resolved  upon  a  preliminary 
trial  before  investing  Shun  with  the  highest  honors.  He 
accordingly  gave  him  his  own  two  daughters  in  marriage, 
declaring  that  he  would  test  his  fitness  for  the  throne  by 
witnessing  his  behavior  with  his  two  wives.  We  are  to 
suppose  that  Shun  stood  the  test,  for  he  was  soon  appointed 

"The  Chinese  Classics,"  by  James  Legge,  D.D.,  vol.  Hi.  pt.  ii.  pp.  5-.J-80 

2 


Jt>  THE    FOKKIGNEK    IN    CHINA. 

■' ( i.'iifral  Regulator"  of  the  empire,  and  subsequently  suc- 
ceeded to  the  superior  dignity. 

Various  incongruities  of  historical  statement  respecting 
this  period  give  to  much  that  is  said  the  character  of 
legendary  tales.  The  stories  of  regal  pomp,  extensive  em- 
pire, divine  intelligence,  and  exalted  virtue  —  the  galaxy 
of  brilliant  ministers  —  the  arts  of  astronomy,  surveying, 
legislation,  and  various  feats  of  men  who  are  clearly  enti- 
tled to  the  rank  of  demigods  —  will  be  regarded  as  akin 
to  such  woi'ks  of  imagination  as  "  Plato's  Republic "  or 
"More's  Utopia." 

Concerning  the  successor  of  Shun,  Bunsen  says:  "  Yu 
the  Great  is  as  much  an  historical  king  as  Charlemagne; 
and  the  imperial  tribute-roll  of  his  reign  in  the  Shoo- 
King  is  a  contemporary  and  public  document  just  as  cer- 
tainly as  are  the  capitularies  of  the  king  of  the  Franks." 
To  this  Dr.  Legge,  the  eminent  oriental  scholar,  replies: 
"  That  Yu  is  a  historical  king  is  freely  admitted;  but  that 
the  tribute-roll  of  his  reign  which  we  have  in  the  Shoo- 
King  was  made  by  him,  or  is  to  be  accepted  as  a  genuine 
record  of  his  labors,  must  be  as  freely  denied."  It  is 
probable  that  the  reign  of  this  monarch  marks  the  point 
of  time  when  the  rule  of  petty  chiefs  gave  place  to  one 
united  and  absolute  sovereignty. 

The  ancient  annals  speak  of  the  condition  of  the  sur- 
face of  eastern  Asia  as  one  of  disorder  and  desolation 
when  he  entered  upon  his  heaven-appointed  task.  He  is 
made  to  appear  from  the  west,  "  tracking  the  great  rivers, 
here  burning  the  woods,  hewing  the  rocks,  and  cutting 
through  the  mountains  which  obstructed  their  progress, 
and  there  deepening  their  channels,  until  their  waters  are 
brought  to  flow  peacefully  into  the  eastern  sea.     He  forms 


EARLY    DATES.  27 

lakes,  and  raises  mighty  embankments,  until  at  length  the 
grounds  along  the  waters  were  everywhere  made  habitable; 
the  hills  were  cleared  of  their  superfluous  wood;  the 
sources  of  the  streams  were  cleared;  the  marshes  were  well 
banked,  and  access  to  the  capital  was  secured  for  all  within 
the  four  seas.  A  great  order  was  effected  in  the  six  maga- 
zines of  material  wealth;  the  different  parts  of  the  country 
were  subjected  to  an  exact  comparison,  so  that  contribution 
of  revenue  could  be  carefully  adjusted  according  to  their 
resources.  The  fields  were  all  classified  with  reference  to 
the  three  characters  of  the  soil,  and  the  revenues  for  the 
Middle  Kingdom  were  established."  *  One  might  suppose 
that  the  time  required  for  the  completion  of  so  vast  an 
enterprise  would  extend  beyond  the  period  of  one  man's 
life;  but,  if  we  are  to  credit  the  commentators,  Yu  is  to  be 
regarded  as  a  supernatural  being,  who  could  lead  the  im- 
mense rivers  of  China  as  if  he  had  been  engaged  in  regulat- 
ing the  course  of  feeble  streamlets.  Having  thus  "  traveled 
and  toiled  and  subdued  the  face  of  nature,"  it  is  presuma- 
ble that  the  possessions  of  Yu  were  widely  extended;  but  we 
have  no  trustworthy  means  of  ascertaining  their  boundary. 
The  population,  also,  becomes  a  question  of  interest.  One 
of  the  older  writers  placed  it  at  13,553,923.  As  the  state- 
ment was  first  made,  so  far  as  known,  about  two  thousand 
five  hundred  years  after  the  date  to  which  it  refers,  we  can 
hardly  receive  it  with  much  credence.  The  number  of  one 
million  which  Sacharoff  would  allow  for  the  Chinese  of 
Yu's  time  is,  in  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Legge,  abundantly 
large.  The  house  of  Hia,  which  is  to  be  regarded  as  the 
first  Chinese  dynasty,  was  founded  by  this  illustrious  ruler, 
whose  descendants  maintained   their  supremacy  for  about 

♦Legge's  Classics,  vol.  iii,  pt.  ii,  p.  58. 


28  THE    FOREIGNER    I N    CHINA. 

four  hundred  years,  from  2000  to  1600  B.C.*  Among  the 
contemporary  events  of  importance  are  the  call  of  Abra- 
ham. Jacob's  flight  to  Mesopotamia,  and  Joseph's  elevation 
in  Egypt. 

The  Shang  dynasty,  under  twenty-eight  sovereigns, 
characterized  by  wars  among  rival  princes,  and  the  Chaou 
dynasty,  continuing  for  eight  hundred  and  seventy-three 
years,  under  thirty-five  monarchs,  the  longest  of  any  in 
history,  bring  us  down  to  an  eventful  epoch.  Among  the 
feudal  states  under  the  house  of  Chaou,  that  of  Tsin,  on  the 
northwest,  had  long  been  the  most  powerful.  One  of  the 
princes,  Chaou  Siang-wang,  carried  his  encroachments  into 
the  imperial  possessions,  and  soon  became  master  of  the 
whole  empire.  The  son  crowned  with  complete  triumph 
his  father's  rebellious  career,  and  assumed  the  name  of  Chi 
Hwang-ti  {i.e.  First  Emperor)  of  the  Tsin  dynasty.  He 
divided  the  country  into  thirty-six  provinces,  over  which  he 
placed  governors,  made  progress  through  his  dominions 
with  a  splendor  hitherto  unknown,  opened  roads  and  canals 
to  facilitate  intercourse  between  the  provinces,  besides  per- 
forming other  distinguished  acts.  Having  repressed  the 
incursions  of  the  Huns,  and  driven  them  into  the  wilds  of 
Mongolia,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  extending  and  uniting 
the  walls  which  the  subject  northern  states  had  erected 
on  their  frontier  into  one  grand  fortification,  stretching 
across  his  wide  domain  from  the  sea  to  the  desert.  Such 
was  the  origin  of  the  far-famed  Great  Wall  of  China,  which 
gigantic  undertaking  was  completed  in  ten  years,  or  about 
200  b.c.  With  a  vain  ambition  to  destroy  all  records  writ- 
ten previous  to  his  own  reign,  that  he  might  be  regarded 

*  Chalmers1  "  Origin  of  the  Chinese,"  p.  05;  "The  Middle  Kingdom,"  by  S. 
Welle  Williams,  LL.D..  vol.  li,  p.  210. 


EARLY    DATES.  29 

by  posterity  as  the  first  emperor  of  the  Chinese  race,  he 
issued  an  order  for  the  total  destruction  of  the  works  of 
Confucius  and  Mencius,  and  other  classic  writings.  "  The 
burning  of  the  books"  was  attended  by  the  slaughter  of 
many  of  the  literati,  upward  of  four  hundred  and  sixty  of 
whom  were  buried  alive  in  pits  for  a  warning  to  the 
empire.  This  Chinese  event  has  been  compared  to  the 
IJroceeding  ascribed  to  Edward  I  of  England,  who  is  said  to 
have  assembled,  in  a.d.  1284,  all  the  Welsh  bards,  and 
caused  them  to  be  put  to  death.  This  attempt  to  efface  the 
history  of  former  times,  and  to  blot  out  from  the  memory 
of  mankind  the  names  which  had  been  held  in  reverence 
for  hundreds  and  thousands  of  years,  failed  of  complete 
success,  thanks  to  the  marvelous  memory  of  devoted  schol- 
ars, and  the  recovery  of  a  few  copies  of  the  ancient  records 
in  a  better  or  worse  state  of  preservation;  albeit  a  shade  of 
doubt  has  been  thrown  upon  the  venerated  classics. 

The  successor  of  the  sanguinary  and  impolitic  Chi  was 
soon  displaced  by  a  soldier  of  fortune,  who,  under  the  name 
of  Kaou-tsu,  founded  the  Han  dynasty.  From  this  com- 
mencement of  modern  Chinese  history  we  are  speedily 
brought  to  an  event  of  signal  importance  in  the  religious 
world. 

Boodhism,  one  of  the  three  powerful  religions  in  China, 
not  only  originated  in  a  foreign  country,  but  was  first  dis- 
seminated by  foreign  propagandists.  During  the  first 
century  of  the  Christian  era,  there  was  a  spiritual  dearth 
in  the  land.  Although  Confucius  has  been  too  hastily 
condemned  as  an  atheistical  philosopher,  it  being  alto- 
gether probable  that  his  confession  of  ignorance  as  to  the 
powers  above  nature  and  in  nature,  and  as  to  the  hidden 
and  mysterious  life  of  man,  was  entirely  ingenuous,  it  can- 


:>0  THE    FOREIGN  BR    IN    CHI  N  \. 

4 

not  be  denied  that  his  system  completely  failed  to  meet  in 
any  measure,  and  much  less  to  satisfy,  the  immortal  long- 
ings  "I'  the  people.  The  charms,  incantations,  and  magic 
arts  of  Taouism  —  the  knowledge  of  letters,  and  the  craft 
of  state, —  even  the  effort  to  turn  the  great  master  into  a 
god  by  raising  tablets  to  his  memory  and  temples  for  his 
worship, —  did  not  answer  the  crying  necessity  of  the  age. 
About  60  a.d.  the  Emperor  Ming-ti,  influenced,  as  it  was 
thought,  by  a  dream,  or,  as  others  have  supposed,  by  a  say- 
ing of  Confucius  —  "In  the  West  there  are  great  sages," 
—  or,  as  still  others  have  imagined,  by  a  rumor  of  Him 
who  was  "  born  king  of  the  Jews,"  dispatched  embassa- 
dors on  an  errand  similar  to  that  of  the  Wise  Men  of  the 
East,  who  followed  the  light  of  Bethlehem's  star.  Proceed- 
ing as  far  as  India,  the  embassy  there  met  with  Boodhist 
priests  ;  and,  supposing  that  the  deity  whose  fame  was 
thus  brought  to  their  attention  was  the  divine  person  they 
bad  been  sent  to  seek,  they  returned  home  with  the  new 
god,  accompanied  b}r  a  number  of  religious  teachers. 
These  priests  of  Boodha  were  received  by  His  Majesty 
with  signal  marks  of  favor.  A  succeeding  emperor  sent 
to  India  for  more  of  their  order,  and  no  less  than  3,000 
went  to  China,  where  they  were  inducted  into  a  temple  of 
one  thousand  rooms,  built  expressly  for  them.  This  strange 
religion,  shorn  of  all  the  indecencies  and  fanatic  madness 
of  Indian  worship,  appealing  to  the  hopes  and  fears  of 
men  by  its  doctrine  of  future  rewards  and  punishments, 
and  pleasing  their  imaginations  with  a  pompous  ritual  and 
splendid  pictorial  scenes  of  far-away  worlds,  under  im- 
perial patronage  and  protection,  spread  rapidly  among 
the  masses.  The  hostility  conceived  on  the  part  of  the 
literati   upon  its   introduction   into  the   country  has   con- 


EARLY    DATES.  31 

tinued  to  the  present;  but  as  these  astute  critics  have 
been  unable  to  offer  anything  better,  the  result  is,  as  Dr. 
Morrison  has  observed,  "  Boodhism  in  China  is  decried  by 
the  learned,  laughed  at  by  the  profligate,  yet  followed  by 
all."  The  seventh  maxim  of  Kang-hi,  pointed  against  all 
strange  religions,  presents  that  monarch  in  the  attitude 
of  a  defender  of  the  orthodox  faith  as  taught  in  the 
classics,  while  he  was  himself  a  daily  worshiper  at  the 
shrine  of  Boodhist  idols. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  seventh  century  a  monk 
flourished  who  is  perhaps  the  most  famous  of  all  his  co- 
religionists in  the  Far  East.  Leaving  his  native  place, 
Yuan-chwang  traveled  westward  in  search  of  the  books 
and  doctrines  of  his  faith.  He  spent  sixteen  years  abroad, 
five  of  which  were  passed  in  the  great  religious  establish- 
ment of  Nalanda,  in  Magadha,  where  he  mastered  the 
Sanscrit  language,  and  pursued  with  devout  zeal  his 
studies  in  sacred  learning.  According  to  one  authority, 
he  translated,  or  helped  to  translate,  six  hundred  and 
fifty-seven  works  under  the  auspices  and  command  of  the 
Emperor.  He  also  wrote  an  "Account  of  Western  Coun- 
tries," which  is  a  very  interesting  volume,  but  disfigured 
by  improbable  statements,  and  gross  absurdities  imposed 
on  him  from  Indian  sources.  His  unconquerable  will, 
his  dauntless  courage,  his  genius  and  scholarship,  and 
above  all  his  unswerving  faith,  his  fervent  spirit,  and  his 
purity  of  life,  commend  him  to  our  highest  admiration. 
Such  examples  of  unselfish  and  sublime  devotion  to  im- 
perfect forms  of  truth  must  have  had  their  inspi ration 
from  a  superhuman  source;  and  they  indicate  <<»  us  the 
probable  fact  that  Boodhism,  containing  less  of  gross  and 


Ill  i:    FOREIG  N  i  i;    I  N    CH  I  N  A. 

Fatal  error  than  any  other  of  the  pagan  religions,  is  des- 
tined to  exercise  a   propaedeutic  office  for  Christianity. 

It  tnusl  be  confessed,  however,  that  all  professed  be- 
lievers  were  not  like  this  master  of  the  law.  Many  of 
the  foreign  priests  practiced  necromantic  arts,  and  imposed 
on  the  people  by  pretended  drugs  for  conferring  long  life; 
and  numbers  of  them,  in  (557,  were  sent  back  to  their  na- 
tive country.  During  the  reign  of  the  Empress  Woo, 
Boodhism  was  popular  and  powerful,  but  cannot  be  said 
to  have  made  an  honorable  use  of  its  good  fortune.  The 
profligate  character  of  the  Empress,  and  the  vices  of  her 
favorite,  the  priest  Huai-yi,  disgraced  religion  in  the 
palace,  and  became  a  source  of  corruption  in  all  depart- 
ments of  political  and  social  life. 

A  severe  reverse  of  fortune  came  to  the  adherents  of 
the  Indian  deity  in  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century. 
Under  a  fanatical  Taouist  influence,  the  lands  and  other 
property  attached  to  religious  houses  were  appropriated 
by  the  government;  the  images,  bells,  and  all  other  me- 
tallic articles,  were  melted  down  and  made  into  coin,  and 
the  wood  and  stone  of  the  sacred  structures  were  taken 
to  make  and  repair  public  buildings.  Of  the  first  grade 
monasteries  4,600,  and  of  the  smaller  establishments 
40,000,  were  in  this  manner  destroyed;  and  over  260,000 
monks  and  nuns  were  sent  adrift  in  the  world.  This  was 
by  far  the  severest  blow  ever  inflicted  on  Boodhism  in 
China,  and  perhaps  the  world  has  never  seen  a  religious 
body  disendowed  and  secularized  on  a  more  magnificent 
scale.* 

Since  that  time  the  religions  of  the  country  have  con- 

*  "  P.oodliism  in  China,"  by  T.  Watters,  in  the  ''Chinese  Recorder,1' July 
1869;  also  the  numerous  authorities  there  cited. 


EARLY    DATES.  33 

tinued  their  triangular  contest,  but  with  varying  fortunes; 
until,  in  these  latter  days,  each  maintains  its  ascendency, 
—  Confucianism  for  the  state,  Taouism  for  the  philoso- 
pher, and  Boodhism  for  the  ignorant,  struggling,  aspiring 
people. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  EAST  AND   WEST. 

r  I  THAT  the  present  occupants  of  the  soil  of  China  are 
-*-  not  identical  as  to  race  with  the  first  inhabitants, 
appears  to  be  a  fact  beyond  all  reasonable  doubt.  Coming 
from  a  remote  west  and  northwest  region,  they  doubtless 
brought  with  them  to  their  new  country  the  rudiments  of 
the  arts  and  sciences.  Whether  they  possessed  many  inde- 
pendent inventions  and  discoveries,  is  a  question  not  easily 
determined.  Various  implements  and  arts  which  have 
existed  among  them  from  the  earliest  historic  times  are 
common  to  nearly  all  countries  of  great  antiquity, —  such 
as  pottery,  brick-making,  archery,  swords,  spears,  shields, 
plows,  carriages,  harps,  wind  instruments,  statuary,  draw- 
ing or  painting,  drums,  bells,  spinning,  weaving,  embroid- 
ery, mail-armor,  standards,  flags.  To  imagine  that  all 
these  are  so  natural  and  easy  that  each  nation  might  have 
separately  fallen  upon  them,  is  by  no  means  a  scientific  or 
satisfactory  conclusion.  It  is  more  consistent  with  reason 
and  revelation  to  suppose  that  they,  for  the  most  part,  were 
invented  only  once,  when  mankind  were  all  together  in  one 
place. 

Notwithstanding  the  adverse  opinion  of  some  writei-s, 
we  are  inclined  to  favor  the  view  that  the  Chinese  acquired 
their  astronomy  from  the  West  before  the  Christian  era. 
The  sudden  appearance,  in  Sze  Ma-tsin's  History,  of  the  Ca- 
lippic  cycle  —  a  method  far  in  advance  of  anything  known 

34 


THE    EAST   AND    WEST.  35 

before  in  China,  which  was  familiar  to  Aristotle,  whose 
pupil,  Alexander,  carried  his  conquests  to  the  East  as  far  as 
the  Punjaub,  b.c.  328-325, —  and  the  common  expression, 
chili  ching,  or  "the  seven  directors,"  to  be  taken  in  the 
sense  of  sun,  moon  and  five  planets,  and  applied  to  days, 
point  them  out  as  imitators  of  the  Hindoos  or  Bactrians; 
and  the  Hindoos,  certainly,  in  their  tui-n,  borrowed  from 
the  Greeks.* 

China  has  long  had  the  credit  of  having  invented  writ- 
ing, paper,  printing,  gunpowder,  and  the  mariner's  compass, 
with  perhaps  no  better  claim  than  her  own  arrogant  pre- 
tensions, and  the  general  tendency  among  Europeans  to 
assign  to  that  nation  anything  the  origin  of  which  is  un- 
known or  obscure.  It  is  probable  that  paper  and  ink  were 
introduced  from  the  West.  These  necessary  accompani- 
ments of  even  a  rude  civilization  were  in  common  use  in 
Europe  from  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  but  were 
unknown  in  China  until  about  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  when  the  paint-brush  gradually  assumed  the  form 
of  the  modern  pencil,  and  the  cumbrous  tablets  of  bamboo 
were  exchanged  for  paper  manufactured  from  hemp,  flax, 
and  old  cloth.  The  Chinese  long  employed  a  coarse  paint 
in  writing  their  characters.  Ink  is  first  mentioned  in  the 
third  century,  and  was  made  of  soot  and  resin.  It  is  a 
singular  fact  that  the  Romans  used  precisely  these  con- 
stituents, as  Pliny  informs  us.  As  to  printing,  we  are  not 
so  well  enlightened;  although,  as  it  has  been  significantly 
remarked,  "the  seal  or  'signet'  used  by  the  sons  of  Jacob 
was  a  printing  instrument,  and  printing  of  books  was  only 
sealing  on  a  large  scale."  It  may  be  even  doubted  that  the 
Chinese  invented  gunpowder,   or  that  they  originated  its 

*  Dr.  Legge's  Classics,  vol.  hi,  pt.  i,  p.  100-1. 


86  THE    FORT-TCN'KR    IN    CHINA. 

application  tn  purposes  of  war,  as  the  first  maker  of  it  is 
mentioned  by  themselves  as  having  lived  only  about  seven 
hundred  years  ago.*  For  a  long  time  it  was  probably 
applied  alone  to  fireworks,  and  various  harmless  and  useful 
purposes.  The  catapult,  a  military  engine  for  throwing 
stones,  similar  to  what  the  ancient  Komans  had,  is  known 
to  have  been  employed  as  late  as  the  year  1273,  or  perhaps 
still  more  recently, —  a  circumstance  which  seems  to  prove 
that  the  Chinese  at  that  period  were  as  little  acquainted 
with  firearms  as  the  people  of  Europe.  To  Jesuit  mission- 
aries must  be  given  the  credit  of  first  having  taught  them 
how  to  manufacture  the  modern  cannon,  although  such 
association  of  military  pursuits  with  the  priestly  office  may 
not  be  considered  worthy  of  all  praise.  Brass,  or  copper, 
had  long  been  known;  but  the  Chinese  were  ignorant  of 
the  use  of  iron  until  about  700  b.c.  This  must  have  been 
one  of  the  lost  arts;  for,  more  than  three  thousand  years 
previously,  Tubal-Cain  was  "  an  instructor  of  every  artifice 
in  brass  and  iron."  The  knowledge  of  this  metal  seems  to 
have  been  imparted  by  a  warlike  race  which  invaded  China 
from  the  West,  bringing  with  them  iron  armor,  war  char- 
iots, and  round  metal  coins.f  They  may  have  invented  the 
use  of  silk;  but  when  we  consider  that  the  species  of  cater- 
pillars which  spin  and  prepare  the  fine  glossy  filament  used 
in  its  manufacture  were  probably  native  to,  and  abounded 
in,  that  country  as  nowhere  else,  and  that  weaving  is  an  art 
that  has  been  practiced  in  all  ages  and  in  all  countries,  the 
merit  of  originality  may  not  be  conspicuously  apparent. 
Moreover,  the  history  of  the  silk  manufacture  is  not  a  little 

•Chalmers'  "Origin  of  the  Chinese."  p.  34;  also,  see  "A  View  of  China," 
by  Robert  Morrison,  D.D. 

t  Chalmers'  "  Origin  of  the  Chinese,"  p.  33. 


THE    EAST   AND    WEST.  37 

obscure,  the  tradition  of  the  invention  being  carried  back 
into  mythological  periods;  while  the  usual  European  ac- 
count affirms  that  Rome  obtained  it  from  Greece,  and 
Greece  from  Persia,  the  last  being  indebted  for  it  to  China, — 
a  chain  sufficiently  long  to  admit  the  possibility  of  a  miss- 
ing link  somewhere.  As  the  properties  of  the  loadstone 
were  very  early  known  to  the  Chinese,  it  is  probable  that 
their  claims  to  priority  of  discovery  in  this  case  are  well 
founded;  and  yet,  so  far  as  history  shows,  the  Arabs  were 
but  little  behind  them  in  the  knowledge  of  the  mariner's 
compass;  while  the  art  of  communicating  the  magnetic 
virtue  to  steel,  and  suspending  the  needle  on  a  pivot,  is  a 
European  device. 

From  these  examples,  it  may  appear  that  the  Chinese  do 
not  possess  the  remarkable  inventive  genius  claimed  by 
themselves,  and  usually  attributed  to  them  by  the  people  of 
the  West;  although  they  are  entitled  to  great  credit  for 
their  industry  and  mechanical  skill,  which  has  rendered 
them  so  independent  of  foreign  aid.  No  especial  exaltation 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  is  here  intended  or  hinted  at;  for  only 
a  small  proportion  of  our  boasted  modern  civilization  is 
strictly  speaking  our  own.  Much  that  we  call  ours  belongs 
to  the  common  stock  of  humanity.  The  philosophy  of 
universal  history,  as  yet  unwritten,  is  destined  to  point  out, 
in  this  direction,  as  in  many  others,  the  true  and  essential 
brotherhood  of  man. 

It  has  been  asserted,  with  some  degree  of  probability, 
that  the  Shoo-King  is  for  the  most  part  simply  a  history  of 
patriarchal  men  presented  in  Chinese  garb.  If  this  the- 
ory is  correct,  we  have  the  interesting  fact  that  the  gods 
and  ancestors  of  the  Chinese  lived  in  the  kingdom  of 
Nimrod,  or,  perhaps,  at  a  time  previous  to  the  confusion 


38  THE   FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

of  tongues,  and  may  therefore  be  identical  with  promi- 
nent characters  in  our  Bible  history.  Many  of  the  truths 
and  maxims  of  an  earlier  traditional  faith,  handed  down 
through  the  teaching  of  Confucius,  and  others  of  the  old 
masters,  seem  to  point  out  a  connection  with  the  patri- 
archal dispensation.  It  is  not  altogether  improbable  that 
they  possessed  at  one  time  a  partial  knowledge  of  the 
Hebrew  Scriptures,  and  that  these  sacred  records  had  a 
certain  influence  in  giving  tone  to  the  writings  of  the 
early  philosophers  and  teachers.  Certain  it  is  that  there 
are  philosophical  and  religious  sentiments  in  these  writ- 
ings which  are  not  unworthy  of  such  a  source. 

Modern  fame  has  charged  the  people  of  China  with  be- 
ing inhospitable  and  bigoted,  and  with  having  erected 
about  the  empire  on  every  side  a  wall  of  seclusion.  It 
has  not  always  been  so,  as  we  have  begun  to  discover, 
and  as  we  shall  further  see.  In  the  second  century  be- 
fore Christ,  they  made  extraordinary  efforts  to  open  com- 
munication with  the  West.  Enterprising  travelers  pushed 
their  way  beyond  the  nomadic  tribes  of  Huns  and  Scyth- 
ians to  the  very  borders  of  Persia,  where  they  procured  a 
superior  breed  of  horses,  eagerly  coveted  by  the  Emperor; 
and  brought  back  wine  made  from  grapes,  single-humped 
camels,  ostrich-eggs,  and,  probably,  other  articles  of  com- 
merce not  definitely  mentioned.  At  the  same  time,  they 
became  acquainted  with  the  northern  parts  of  India,  called 
"Shindo"  and  "  Dahara." 

The  position  of  the  empire  in  the  extreme  limits  of 
Eastern  Asia  rendered  almost  impracticable  for  many  ages 
any  attempt  to  reach  it  either  by  sea  or  by  an  overland 
route  across  the  Himalaya  mountains.  Notwithstanding, 
embassies  were  sent  from   imperial    Rome,  and  endeavors 


THE    EAST    AND    WEST.  39 

were  made  to  reciprocate  these  high  civilities.  The  first 
distinct  account  of  China,  and  of  its  peculiar  institutions 
and  customs,  has  come  to  us  from  the  Arabs.  Their  far- 
extended  conquests  brought  them  to  the  confines  of  that 
remote  country;  and  many  individuals,  under  the  impulse 
of  scientific  and  literary  research  which  prevailed  among 
their  countrymen  in  no  inconsiderable  degree  at  that 
time,  were  led  to  explore  the  terra  incognita.  A  transla- 
tion by  Renaudot  from  the  itineraries  of  two  Arabian 
travelers,  gives  us  the  result  in  part  of  their  observations 
during  the  years  850  and  877.  This  curious  and  instruct- 
ive work,  although  written  over  one  thousand  years  ago, 
depicts  the  Chinese  very  much  as  we  know  them  at  the 
present  day;  which  fact  goes  to  prove  both  the  fidelity  of 
the  writers  and  the  antique  and  unchanging  character  of 
Chinese  civilization.*  They  state  that  Arabian  merchants, 
who  came  by  sea,  were  permitted  to  trade  at  the  port  of 
Canfu,  which  was  probably  Canton  ;  although  describing 
them  as  suffering  from  the  extortions  of  the  mandarins 
of  those  days,  until  they  forsook  that  emporium  of  foreign 
trade  and  returned  in  crowds  to  Siraf  and  Oman. 

In  the  reign  of  Kublai  Khan,  the  Mongol  conqueror 
of  China,  who  also  dug  the  Grand  Canal,  Nicholas  and 
Matthew  Polo,  two  Venetian  noblemen,  visited  his  court. 
They  were  royally  entertained,  and,  on  their  departure 
for  Europe,  invited  to  return.  In  1274  they  accordingly 
came  back,  bearing  letters  from  Pope  Gregory  X,  and  ac- 
companied by  the  youthful  Marco,  son  of  one  of  them. 
The  lad  soon  became  a  favorite  with  the  Khan,  and  de- 
voted seventeen  years  to  the  service  of  his  adopted  prince. 
Having  obtained,  with  great  difficulty,  permission  to  visit 

•"China  and  the  Chinese,"  by  John  Frnncis  Davit),  F.H.S.,  vol.  i,  pp.  20-1. 


40  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

his  native  land,  Marco  and  his  aged  father  and  uncle  re- 
turned to  Venice,  after  an  absence  of  twenty-four  years. 
They  were  so  completely  altered  that  their  countrymen 
did  not  recognize  them,  and  could  hardly  be  persuaded  of 
their  identity.  The  accounts  which  they  gave  of  the  vast 
wealth  and  resources  of  the  Chinese  empire  appeared  in- 
credible to  Europeans  in  those  days.  The  story  is  related 
that  they  determined,  by  a  public  display,  to  satisfy  their 
friends  as  to  the  probable  truth  of  their  narrative.  "All 
their  kindred  and  acquaintances  were  invited  to  a  mag- 
nificent feast.  They  then  presented  themselves  in  splendid 
dresses,  first  of  crimson  satin,  next  of  damask,  and  lastly 
of  velvet  bearing  the  same  colors,  which  they  successively 
threw  off  and  distributed  among  the  company.  Return- 
ing in  their  ordinary  attire,  Marco  produced  the  rags  in 
which  they  had  all  been  disguised,  ripped  them  open,  and 
exhibited  such  a  profusion  of  diamonds,  rubies,  sapphires, 
and  precious  jewels,  as  completely  dazzled  the  spectators. 
On  hearing  of  their  wealth  and  adventures,  persons  of 
all  ranks,  ages  and  professions  flocked  to  the  house  with 
congratulations  and  inquiries.  Marco,  whose  society  was 
courted  by  all  the  distinguished  youths,  stood  forth  as 
principal  orator.  Having  often  occasion,  in  his  enumera- 
tions of  people  and  treasure,  to  repeat  the  term  million, 
then  not  common  in  Europe,  the  name  Messer  Marco  Mill- 
ione  was  applied  to  him,  first  in  jest,  but  afterward  in 
reality."  Trying  his  fortunes  in  a  war  with  the  Genoese, 
he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  employed  the  leisure  of  his 
captivity  in  writing  a  detailed  account  of  his  experience 
and  observations  abroad.  His  work  was  soon  translated 
into  the  various  languages  of  Europe  ;  and  the  story  of 
the  teeming  population,  the  flourishing  cities,  the  bound- 


THE    EAST   AND    WEST.  41 

less  wealth,  the  curious  customs,  the  refinement  and  civili- 
zation of  a  country  hitherto  unexplored,  seemed  more  like 
a  fiction  of  fairyland  than  sober  and  authentic  narrative. 
The  effect,  however,  was  to  stimulate  the  desire  for  a 
knowledge  of  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  and  to 
start  adventurous  men  in  pursuit  of  the  richest  rewards 
of  commerce. 

Cristoval  Colombo,  a  native  of  Genoa,  by  his  familiar- 
ity with  the  writings  of  the  famous  traveler,  became  in- 
flamed with  a  desire  to  share  in  the  wealth  of  Cathay  and 
the  Indies,  a  part  of  which  he  piously  proposed  to  devote 
to  an  attempt  to  rescue  the  Holy  Sepulcher  at  Jerusalem 
from  Infidel  hands.*  Dwelling  in  the  town  of  Porto  Santo, 
he  watched  the  carved  and  worked  driftwood  which  told 
him  of  inhabited  lands  to  the  West.  By  the  aid  of  the 
works  of  Ptolemy,  and  other  ancient  geographers,  he 
roughly  computed  that  extent  of  the  globe  which  he 
thought  must  stretch  between  Eastern  Asia  and  the  Azores, 
and  was  led  to  the  conclusion  that  Japan,  the  "Sypangu" 
of  Polo,  must  lie  in  about  the  locality  now  known  to  be 
occupied  by  Florida,  beyond  which  he  knew  he  must  soon 
come  to  the  realms  of  the  Grand  Khan  ruling  over  China 
and  Tartary.  Picturing  to  Ferdinand  the  advantages  of 
alliance  and  commerce  with  these  countries,  and  to  Isa- 
bella the  merit  of  converting  the  millions  of  Cathay  to 
the  Catholic  faith,  he  at  length  succeeded  in  interesting 
the  royal  pair  in  the  fitting  out  of  his  peaceful  Armada. 
Ignorant  of  the  labors  of  those  Arabian  geographers  who 
had  measured  a  degree  of  the  great  circle  of  the  earth, 
he  had  considerably  underrated  the  circumference  of  the 
globe;  and  instead  of  the  fair  vision  of  a  refined  and  luxu- 

*  "Messcr  Marco  Millionc."  with  commentary,  by  M.  Paiithier,  of  Paris. 
2* 


42  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

rious  kingdom,  the  disappointed  discoverer  was  greeted 
by  the  savagery  of  unknown  islands,  whose  tropical  beauty 
and  natural  wealth,  nevertheless,  suggested  to  him  the 
name  of  Western  Indies.  The  European  impulse  to  dis- 
covery and  conquest  which  had  its  origin  in  the  marvel- 
ous book  of  Polo  served  to  lead  on  the  enterprise  which 
culminated  in  the  most  sublime  event  of  the  age.  To 
China  is  thus  indirectly  due  the  discovery  of  America. 
But  for  the  faithfulness  of  that  excellent  amanuensis, 
Rusticien  de  Pisa,  who  wrought  in  the  gloomy  precincts 
of  a  dungeon,  the  free  institutions  and  the  material  wealth 
of  the  United  States  might  still  have  been  undeveloped. 

The  history  of  modern  intercourse  between  the  West 
and  the  Far  East  properly  begins  with  the  year  1516, 
when  Rafael  Perestello  sailed  the  first  vessel  that  was 
ever  conducted  to  China  under  a  European  flag.  He  was 
soon  followed  by  another  Portuguese  trader,  who,  with  a 
fleet  of  eight  vessels,  anchored  near  the  port  of  Canton, 
and  by  his  fair  dealings  gave  great  satisfaction  to  the  au- 
thorities. 

In  1596  Queen  Elizabeth  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  open  up  trade  with  China,  by  dispatching  an  envoy  with 
a  letter  to  the  Emperor.  The  attempt  was  renewed  in 
1637  by  an  English  fleet  under  the  command  of  Weddell, 
who  was  very  desirous  of  participating  in  the  traffic  at 
Canton;  but,  through  causes  hereafter  to  be  explained,  in- 
stead of  peaceful  commerce,  warlike  demonstrations  re- 
sulted. Afterward,  first  at  Ningpo,  then  in  Formosa  and 
at  Amoy,  and  still  later  at  Canton,  a  beginning  was  made 
of  those  commercial  relations  which  within  a  century  grew 
to  such  vast  proportions. 

The    intercourse   of  the   Russians  with  China  was   not 


THE    EAST   AND    WEST.  43 

of  a  maritime  character,  and  for  many  years  was  confined 
altogether  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the  empire.  We 
date  the  entrance  of  the  Muscovite  into  this  country  as 
early  as  1567,  when  the  Czar  John  dispatched  an  expedi- 
tion to  explore  the  region  l^ond  the  great  lake  Baikal, 
which  was  so  successful  as  to  push  on  to  Peking,  but 
failed  to  obtain  an  interview  of  the  Emperor  on  account 
of  their  having  brought  .no  presents.  The  first  embassy 
proper  from  Russia  was  sent  in  1653,  with  the  view  of 
establishing  liberty  of  commerce,  and  was  received  with 
marks  of  honor;  although  it  is  asserted  that  the  katoiv, 
or  nine  prostrations,  was  duly  performed  by  the  embassa- 
dor BaikafF,  which  may  have  been  interpreted  as  an  act 
of  inferiority  or  vassalage.  The  success  of  this  formal  at- 
tempt at  reciprocity  gives  to  Russia  the  distinction  of 
being  the  first  European  power  treating  with  the  court 
of  Peking.  Peter  the  Great  sent  Lange,  a  Swede  from 
Stockholm,  to  the  eastern  capital  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
curing Chinese  decorations  for  his  country  seat  at  Peter- 
hof,  on  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  to  learn  the  oriental  art  of 
building,  and  with  particular  directions  to  study  Chinese 
commerce.  After  a  journey  of  fifteen  months  he  arrived 
in  Peking,  and  his  advent  excited  much  public  curiosity. 
In  the  evening  of  the  first  day  he  was  entertained  at  din- 
ner by  the  governor-general  of  Western  Tartary,  by  order 
of  the  Emperor,  Kang-hi,  and  was  soon  after  admitted  into 
the  imperial  presence.  He  was  permitted  to  share  in  the 
honors  of  the  New  Year  festivities,  when  over  ten  thou- 
sand mandarins  from  the  provinces  came  to  pay  their  rev- 
erence to  His  Majesty,  and  when  a  display  of  fireworks 
was  given  in  the  Summer  Palace,  which  for  brilliancy 
and    magnificent    proportions    has    probably    never    been 


44  TIIK    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

approached  outside  the  Celestial  Empire.  The  fifth  era- 
bassy,  commissioned  by  Catherine  I,  effected  a  treaty,  con- 
cerning which  a  Russian  historian  remarked,  one  hundred 
years  Later,  "that  it  opened  to  us  the  road  to  the  capital 
of  the  Chinese  empire,  which  is  almost  inaccessible  to  the 
other  nations  of  Europe. '"  The  article  relating  to  com- 
merce runs  thus:  "Free  trade  shall  exist  between  the  two 
countries  ;  the  number  of  the  Russian  merchants  which 
can  come  every  three  years  to  Peking  shall  not  exceed 
two  hundred,  as  has  been  formerly  arranged.  If  merchants 
only  are  with  the  caravan,  so  shall  they  no  longer  be  main- 
tained as  formerly.  They  must  provide  for  themselves; 
but  no  difficulties  will  be  put  in  the  way  of  their  com- 
merce, and  no  duty  shall  be  demanded.  Besides  these 
caravans,  houses  for  trade  shall  be  established  for  ordinary 
commerce  at  Kiachta  and  on  the  frontier  at  Nertchinsk."  * 
Commercial  relations  have  been  maintained  to  the  present 
day,  with  occasional  disruption  in  the  heat  of  diplomatic 
controversy  or  from  the  peril  of  warlike  expeditions. 

In  addition  to  their  political  establishment,  the  Rus- 
sians have  long  been  allowed  to  maintain  an  ecclesiastical 
mission  in  Peking,  the  latter  occupying  the  site  of  a 
Boodhist  temple  which  was  granted  to  them  by  Kang-hi. 
The  design  of  the  mission  has  been  to  maintain  the  Greek 
forms  of  worship  among  Christians  of  that  faith,  and  to 
propagate  the  same  among  the  heathen,  a  good  degree 
of  tolei-ation  having  been  extended  by  the  government. 
There  is  a  class  of  Russo-Chinese  Christians,  called  Alba- 
zines,  who  are  descended  from  captives  taken  in  the  Amoor 
wars.  They  were  early  admitted  into  one  of  the  three 
most   honorable    "  banners "   of  the    Imperial   Guard,  and 

*  J.  Dudgeon,  M.D.,  in  "Chinese  Recorder,"  July  1871,  p.  36. 


THE    EAST    AND    WEST.  45 

still  perform  the  usual  duties  and  receive  the  customary 
privileges  of  regular  bannermen,  whose  special  duty  is 
the  defense  of  the  capital. 

The  Mohammedans  found  their  way  into  China  within 
a  century  after  the  era  of  their  Prophet,  and  have  been 
permitted  to  hold  their  peculiar  tenets  and  practice  their 
singular  rites  and  ceremonies.  They  are  most  numerous 
in  the  northern  provinces,  where, -in  some  parts,  they  form 
a  third  of  the  population.  Although  having  adopted  the 
native  costume  and  spoken  language,  they  appear,  never- 
theless, to  be  a  distinct  race.  They  wish  to  be  exclusive, 
and  do  not  like  to  be  regarded  as  one  with  the  rest  of 
the  nation.  The  Koran  is  read  in  Arabic,  and  probably 
has  never  been  translated  into  Chinese.  They  have  their 
mosques,  built  after  the  Indian  fashion,  in  which  services 
are  performed  every  Friday,  and  which  are  characterized 
by  the  entire  absence  of  images.  They  are,  in  theoi*y, 
strongly  opposed  to  idolatry;  and  yet,  conscientiousness  in 
this  regard  can  have  no  high  value  among  them,  as  some 
of  their  race  have  held  important  official  positions,  and 
no  resident  officer  in  a  city  can  omit  the  sacrifices  to 
Confucius  and  the  worship  of  the  state  gods.  Circum- 
cision is  made  indispensable  to  admission  into  the  Moham- 
medan faith,  and  abstinence  from  swine's  flesh  is  looked 
upon  as  a  primary  virtue,  while  in  respect  to  general 
morals  they  are  perhaps  equally  debased  with  their  idola- 
trous neighbors.  On  the  whole,  they  may  be  regarded  as 
faithful  followers  of  the  Prophet,  although  not  so  atten- 
tive to  daily  prayers  as  many  of  their  co-religionists,  and 
few    if  any  of  them   now  make  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 

The  introduction  of  Judaism  was  an  event  of  the  very 
early  centuries,  and  it  possibly  occurred  before  the  birth 


46  THE    FOREIGNER    IN   CHINA. 

of  Christ.  A  colony  of  Jews,  consisting  of  seventy  fami- 
lies, made  their  way  through  the  empire  to  nearly  the 
extreme  limits  of  the  East,  where  they  settled  at  Kai- 
fung-foo,  the  capital  of  Honan  province,  on  the  banks  of 
the  Yellow  river.  That  they  should  have  been  permitted 
to  traverse  the  country  in  such  numbers,  occupying  many 
months  in  the  pilgrimage,  and  to  maintain,  as  they  doubt- 
less did  for  a  long  time,  the  integrity  of  their  religion, 
so  distinct  and  divergent  from  the  idol-worship  carried 
on  about  them,  and  finally  to  effect  a  settlement  in  the 
center  of  a  populous  region,  and  to  remain  in  undisturbed 
possession,  speaks  much  for  the  tolerant  spirit  of  Chinese 
institutions.  This  remnant  of  the  posterity  of  Abraham 
have  long  suffered  from  the  physical  and  moral  decay 
which  so  often  appear  to  be  inseparable.  They  now  num- 
ber only  about  two  hundred  individuals,  and  retain  almost 
none  of  their  national  characteristics,  beyond  a  kind  of 
reverence  for  the  law  and  the  seventh-day  Sabbath.  The 
last  among  them  who  could  read  Hebrew  died  nearly  a 
century  ago,  and  the  final  forfeiture  of  faith  in  the  di- 
vine origin  of  their  religion  is  sufficiently  indicated  by 
this  one  of  their  monumental  inscriptions,  expressed  in 
purely  Chinese  forms  of  thought:  "Although  between  us 
and  the  doctrine  of  Confucius  there  are  differences  of  no 
great  importance,  yet  the  object  of  the  establishment  of 
our  religion  and  theirs  is  the  same.  They  are  intended 
to  inculcate  reverence  for  heaven,  veneration  for  ancestors, 
loyalty  to  the  prince,  and  piety  to  parents,  the  five  human 
relations,  and  the  five  constant  virtues."  * 

*"  The  Religious  Condition  of  the  Chinese,"  by  Rev.  Joseph  Edkins,  D.D.. 
pp.  257-6. 


CHAPTER  III. 

TROUBLOUS  TIMES. 

I  PREVIOUS  to  the  arrival  of  Europeans  at  Canton  the 
-*-  government  of  China  had  given  much  encouragement 
to  foreign  commerce,  and  statistical  records  exist  to  the 
present  day  which  show  a  perfect  knowledge  in  that  coun- 
try of  the  advantages  of  trade  with  the  nations  of  the 
West.  Unhappily,  a  condition  of  things  arose  unfriendly 
to  peace,  and  tending  to  a  war  of  races. 

In  seeking  for  a  cause  of  this  change  in  the  course  of 
events,  we  are  compelled  to  recognize,  first  of  all,  the  arro- 
gant pretensions  to  superiority  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese. 
They  had  never  met  with  a  people  whom  they  considered  at 
all  comparable  to  themselves  in  point  of  civilization.  Their 
traditions,  and  the  culture  of  their  schools,  had  deeply 
impressed  the  national  mind  that  all  but  themselves  were 
barbarians;  while  their  long  experience  with  the  border 
tribes,  and  the  conflict  of  ages  with  the  aboriginal  inhabit- 
ants, had  shaped  toward  inferior  and  unfriendly  states  a 
policy  of  proud  assumption,  and  of  utter  disregard  of  those 
just  principles  which  they  themselves  confessed  to  be  of 
great  value  in  the  home  administration.  Their  funda- 
mental maxim  of  intercourse  with  foreigners  has  been  thus 
translated:  "The  barbarians  are  like  beasts,  and  not  to  be 
governed  on  the  same  principles  as  citizens.  Were  any 
one  to  attempt  controlling  them  by  the  great  maxims  of 
reason,    it    would    tend    to   nothing   but   confusion.     The 


48  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

ancient  kings  well  understood  this,  and  accordingly  ruled 
barbarians  by  misrule.  Therefore,  to  rule  barbarians  by 
misrule  is  the  true  and  best  way  of  ruling  them.'"  If  the 
reader  is  tempted  to  interject  here  a  severe  and  righteous 
criticism,  let  him  remember  the  misrule  of  Holland  in 
Java,  of  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa  and  in  Hindoostan, 
and  the  treatment  of  the  Indian  by  Americans,  and  dis- 
cern, if  he  can,  where  to  bestow  the  weightier  censure. 
Although  foreigners  in  their  early  advances  were  met,  in 
a  few  instances,  by  haughty  mandarins  who  interposed 
unnecessary  vexations  and  subjected  them  to  extortion  and 
violence,  we  are  compelled  to  go  still  further  in  our  search 
for  the  origin  of  unfriendly  differences  which  culminated 
at  length  in  the  strife  of  contending  armies. 

The  good  opinion  entertained  at  Canton  of  Portuguese 
traders,  on  the  occasion  of  their  first  visit,  was  entirely 
reversed  by  the  outrageous  conduct  of  those  who  came  the 
following  year;  and  the  Chinese  besieged  them  in  port  and 
drove  them  away.  Others  of  their  countrymen  appeared 
on  the  coast,  and  succeeded  in  establishing  trade  at  Amoy 
and  Ningpo.  The  general  character  of  their  demeanor 
with  the  natives  at  the  latter  port  may  be  inferred  from 
the  statement  that  on  one  occasion  they  went  out  in  large 
parties  into  the  neighboring  villages  and  seized  the  women 
and  maidens.  This  unmitigated  outrage  provoked  the  ven- 
geance of  the  people,  who  rose  upon  them  and  "  destroyed 
twelve  thousand  Christians,  including  eight  hundred  Por- 
tuguese, and  burned  thirty-five  ships  and  two  junks.'' * 
Among  the  desperate  adventurers  from  Portugal  was  one 
Ferdinand  Mendes  Pinto,  who,  having  learned  at  Ningpo 
that  to  the  northeast  there  was  an  island  containing  the 

*  Williams'  "  Middle  Kingdom,"  vol.  ii,  p.  433. 


TROUBLOUS   TIMES.  49 

tombs  of  seventeen  native  kings  full  of  treasure,  sailed 
thither  with  his  lawless  crew.  He  succeeded  in  finding  the 
place,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  break  open  the  monuments 
and  invade  the  sacred  and  ancient  dust  of  majesty;  but, 
when  about  to  secure  his  plunder,  he  was  attacked  and 
compelled  to  retreat  with  only  a  part  of  the  booty.  He 
afterward  suffered  shipwreck,  and  only  fourteen  of  his 
followers  escaped  with  their  lives,  who  were  taken  prison- 
ers and  sentenced  to  be  whipped  and  to  lose  each  man  a 
thumb.  They  were  finally  sent  to  Peking,  where,  instead 
of  being  consigned  to  torture  and  ignominious  death,  they 
were  merely  condemned  to  one  year's  hard  labor. 

The  first  Portuguese  embassy,  which  was  also  the  first 
by  sea  to  Peking  from  any  European  power,  in  consecpuence 
of  the  unfavorable  impression  at  court  of  the  Portuguese 
character,  came  to  an  unfortunate  end,  in  the  humiliation, 
imprisonment  and  tragic  death  of  the  envoy,  Thomas  Pirez. 
In  1521,  Alfonso  de  Melo,  with  six  vessels  under  his  com- 
mand, arrived  in  China,  ignorant  of  these  events,  and,  at- 
tempting to  open  communication,  met  with  a  very  unex- 
pected reception.  His  men  were  "sent  on  shore  for  water, 
but  returned  with  blood."  He  became  immediately  involved 
in  conflicts  with  the  authorities  and  the  people,  who  put  to 
death  upward  of  twenty  prisoners  that  fell  into  their  hands; 
and  the  squadron  shortly  afterward  sailed  away  from  the 
coast. 

About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  a  foreign  set- 
tlement was  commenced  at  Macao,  on  the  extremity  of  an 
island  near  the  southeastern  boundary  of  the  empire,  under 
the  pretext  of  erecting  sheds  for  drying  goods  introduced 
under  the  appellation  of  tribute,  and  alleged  to  have  been 
damaged    in    a   storm.     At   length   secure    possession   was 


50  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

obtained,  and  for  a  time  Macao  became  the  richest  mart  in 
all  Eastern  Asia.  This  splendid  opportunity  of  illustrating 
western  civilization  was  worse  than  lost.  Portuguese  ves- 
sels employed  by  the  native  government  as  convoy  ships 
treacherously  changed  to  freebooters  on  the  high  seas,  and 
became  infinitely  greater  scourges  than  the  pirates  they 
were  paid  to  repel.  The  foreign  city,  moreover,  became 
notorious  as  the  seat  of  the  coolie  trade,  which  was  largely 
kept  up  by  the  employment  of  kidnaping  agents  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  This  settlement  would  have  long 
since  been  taken  and  destroyed  by  the  indignant  Chinese, 
had  they  not  dreaded  the  vengeance  of  European  powers. 

The  trade  between  the  Spaniards  and  the  Chinese  has 
been  smaller,  and  their  relations  less  important,  than  in 
the  case  of  almost  any  other  European  nation;  but  justice 
to  our  subject  will  not  permit  us  to  pass  over  one  sug- 
gestive fact.  The  Chinese  long  endeavored  to  carry  on  a 
trade  with  the  Philippine  islands,  notwithstanding  the 
Spanish  masters  of  the  soil  treated  them  with  peculiar 
severity,  burdening  them  with  taxes  which  the  people  of 
no  other  nation  were  subjected  to.  Their  harsh  treatment 
in  Manila,  although  they  were  peaceful  and  industrious 
settlers,  excited  the  attention  and  indignation  of  one  of 
their  countrymen,  who,  on  his  return  to  the  continent, 
induced  the  officers  of  his  own  government  to  adopt  the 
Spanish  model  in  their  treatment  of  all.  foreigners  at  Can- 
ton; and  thus  were  perfected  the  principal  features  of  the 
system  of  espionage  and  restriction  of  the  "co-hong" 
which  existed  for  nearly  a  century,  until  the  treaty  of 
1842, —  a  striking  example  of  pardonable  retaliation.* 

The  Dutch  first  appeared  off  the  coast  in  a  fleet  of  war 

*  Williams'  "  Middle  Kingdom,"  vol.  ii,  p.  437. 


TROUBLOUS   TIMES.  51 

vessels,  and  made  an  attack  upon  Macao;  but  being  re- 
pulsed, with  the  loss  of  their  admiral  and  about  three 
hundred  men,  they  retired  and  established  themselves  on 
the  Pescadores,  some  small  islands  between  the  mainland 
and  Formosa.  Their  occupation  of  this  position,  so  well 
calculated  to  menace  the  extensive  commerce  of  those 
waters,  was  a  source  of  anno}7ance  to  the  authorities  in 
Fuh-kien  province.  They  proceeded,  however,  to  erect 
fortifications,  forcing  the  Chinese  who  had  fallen  into  their 
hands  to  do  their  work,  treating  them  with  much  cruelty. 
Liberty  of  trade  being  denied  them,  they  annoyed  the  coast 
with  their  ships;  and  after  repeated  hostilities  it  was  finally 
agreed  that  upon  their  removal  to  Formosa,  with  the  prom- 
ise of  confining  themselves  to  that  locality,  they  should  be 
allowed  the  privileges  of  commerce.  Accordingly,  the  Dutch 
took  possession  of  the  proffered  territory,  called  by  the 
Portuguese,  who  discovered  it,  Ilha  Formose,  or  the  "  Beau- 
tiful Island."  In  this  new  land  they  found  the  productions 
of  nature  in  great  opulence;  and  although  few  Chinese  had 
settled  there,  it  was  still  very  populous  with  friendly  tribes. 
At  first  much  attention  was  paid  to  the  moral  interests  of 
the  islanders,  among  whom  the  Dutch  enforced  their  own 
laws,  and  made,  in  nearly  every  village,  the  education  of 
the  children  compulsory.  Almost  nothing  was  left  of  the 
ancient  religion,  laws,  manners  and  customs  of  the  nation, 
but  the  privilege  of  selecting  from  their  own  number  a 
chief  of  each  precinct,  who  should  manage  its  affairs  under 
the  surveillance  of  a  foreign  military  officer,  with  a  force 
of  twenty-five  men  at  his  command.  The  captains,  or 
chiefs,  were  required  to  appear  before  the  governor  once 
every  year;  and  those  who  had  been  found  faithful  were 
rewai'ded  and  promoted,  but  those  against  whom  complaints 


52  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

were  made  were  usually  dismissed  from  office.  Efforts  were 
also  put  forth  to  introduce  Christianity.  The  work  was 
progressing  favorably,  and  many  thousands  had  been  bap- 
tized, when  the  governors,  fearful  of  offending  the  Japan- 
ese who  were  then  persecuting  and  seeking  to  exterminate 
the  Christians  in  their  country,  and  apprehensive  of  losing 
the  trade  with  the  empire  of  the  rising  sun,  opposed  and 
restricted  the  benevolent  labors  of  the  missionary. 

During  the  struggles  consecpuent  upon  the  overthrow  of 
the  Ming  dynasty  and  the  establishment  of  the  present 
Tartar  rule,  many  Chinese  emigrated  to  Formosa,  some  of 
wrhom  settled  under  the  Dutch,  while  others  formed  sepa- 
rate colonies.  Their  industry  soon  changed  the  aspect  of  the 
island,  and  greatly  increased  its  productiveness.  The  im- 
migration began  to  assume  such  proportions  as  to  alarm 
the  Dutch,  who  took  no  measures  to  conciliate  and  instruct 
the  colonists,  but  sought  to  repel  them  from  their  shores; 
consequently  much  irritation  and  jealousy  prevailed  on 
both  sides,  and  the  Chinese  were  ready  to  join  in  any  likely 
attempt  to  expel  the  foreigner.  The  opportunity  did  not 
long  delay.  About  the  beginning  of  May,  1661,  Koshinga, 
an  independent  Chinese  chieftain,  who  had  risen  to  fame 
and  power  amid  the  shifting  fortunes  of  a  struggle  which 
ended  in  the  triumph  of  the  Tartars,  appeared  off  fort 
Zelandia,  having  under  his  command  a  force  of  at  least 
25,000  men  and  a  fleet  of  considerable  strength.  His  ap- 
pearance was  so  unexpected  that  few  of  the  Dutch  families 
could  be  taken  into  the  fort,  and  a  large  number  of  men, 
women  and  children  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The 
unfortunate  captives  were  cruelly  treated,  as  a  means  of 
compelling  the  surrender  of  the  fort.  Failing  in  his  ob- 
ject, and  seeing  that  there  was  no  way  of  capturing  the 


TROUBLOUS   TIMES.  53 

garrison  except  by  a  tedious  blockade  and  starving-out  of 
the  besieged,  the  chieftain  resolved  to  obtain  by  threat 
what  he  could  not  readily  gain  by  force.  To  this  end  he 
sent  to  fort  Zelandia  the  Rev.  Mr.  Harabrock,  a  celebrated 
minister  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  who  with  a  num- 
ber of  other  clergymen  had  fallen  into  his  hands,  and 
whom  he  instructed  to  persuade  the  besieged  to  surrender 
their  stronghold  by  offering  them  full  pardon  and  permis- 
sion to  march  out  with  all  they  had,  and  by  threatening, 
in  case  of  refusal,  to  torture  the  prisoners  in  the  most 
horrible  manner.  Hambrock  having  received  these  orders, 
and  having  left  his  wife  and  two  of  his  children  as  hos- 
tages with  Koshinga,  proceeded  to  the  fort,  where  he  faith- 
fully executed  his  commission.  But,  Regulus-like,  instead 
of  persuading  the  besieged  to  surrender,  he  animated  them 
with  all  imaginable  reasons  to  a  valiant  defense,  and  en- 
courged  them  to  hold  out,  without  so  much  as  entering 
into  negotiations  respecting  the  surrender  of  the  fort. 
He  concluded  his  patriotic  address  with  the  statement 
that  he  knew  very  well  that  the  sentence  of  death  was 
pronounced  over  him,  but  that  he  had  resolved  to  sacrifice 
all  that  he  had,  his  life,  wife,  and  children,  rather  than 
fall  into  despondency,  treachery,  and  unfaithfulness  to- 
ward God  and  his  country;  and  he  expressed  hope  that 
every  one  would  take  the  same  resolution,  and  follow  his 
example,  as  he  was  convinced  that  Koshinga,  seeing  his 
cunning  purpose  defeated,  would  not  fail  to  carry  out  his 
threat  with  direful  vengeance,  while  any  confidence  that 
he  would  keep  either  faith  or  promise  would  probably  be 
doomed  to  bitter  disappointment.  All  those  present  were 
moved  to  tears  by  his  generous  and  lofty  motives,  and 
urged  him  to  remain  with  them,  as   he  could  do  no  good 


54  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

to  the  prisoners,  but  only  throw  away  his  valuable  life. 
Two  of  his  children,  who  were  in  the  fort,  filled  the  air 
with  their  heart-rending  cries,  and  besought  their  ven- 
erated father  to  remain.  His  only  reply  was  to  ask  whether 
they  wished  him  to  forsake  their  mother,  brother  and  sis- 
ter, leaving  them  to  be  tortured  and  cruelly  murdered? 
They  hushed  their  wailing,  and  one  daughter  fell  pros- 
trate  to  the  ground,  while  the  other  clung  to  her  father 
in  the  agony  of  despair.  Seldom,  if  ever,  has  a  gener- 
ous soul  been  so  tempted  by  conflicting  passions  as  this 
noble  man  at  the  moment  of  his  departure;  and  rarely 
has  history  presented  a  scene  so  tragical  and  sublime  as 
that  witnessed  in  the  fort  when,  upon  the  point  of  leav- 
ing, Hambrock  addressed  its  brave  defenders  in  the  fol- 
lowing words:  "Friends  and  brethren,  I  know  that  I  am 
going  to  certain  death ;  but  I  do  so  in  the  hope  of  doing  a 
service  to  you  and  to  my  fellow  men,  the  prisoners  now  in 
the  hands  of  the  enenry;  that  not  at  any  time  people  may 
charge  me  with  having  caused  the  death  of  so  many  honest 
men  and  pious  Christians.  May  God  protect  you,  give  you 
the  desired  help,  and  save  you.  Be  of  good  cheer,  and 
suffer  the  hardships  of  war  with  patience."  * 

Hereupon  he  departed,  and  returning  to  the  enemy's 
camp,  reported  with  a  cheerful  countenance  to  the  merci- 
less and  enraged  chief  that  the  besieged  had  resolved  not 
to  surrender  their  trust,  but  to  defend  it  against  any 
assault;  and  so  much  the  more  because  they  were  pro- 
vided with  all  the  necessaries  for  enduring  a  long  siege. 
Orders  were  immediately  given  to  kill  the  male  prisoners, 

*"The  Political,  Social  and  Religious  Constitution  of  the  Natives  on  the 
West  Coast  of  Formosa,"  etc.;  translated  from  an  old  Dutch  work  by  Rev.  W. 
Lobscheid,  pp.  1-14. 


TK0UI5L0US   TIMES.  55 

and  only  twenty-three  of  the  whole  number,  six  hundred 
and  thirteen,  were  spared.  After  having  sprinkled  the 
principal  villages  with  the  blood  of  the  Dutch,  the  Chi- 
nese stripped  the  corpses  of  everything  they  had  left  and 
buried  them  in  large  holes.  The  women  were  distributed 
among  the  officers  and  soldiers,  but  were  restored  to  their 
friends  upon  the  capitulation  of  Zelandia.  After  a  siege 
of  nine  months,  with  the  loss  of  about  sixteen  hundred 
men,  the  Hollanders  gave  up  the  fort  and  abandoned  For- 
mosa, returning  to  their  colony  in  Java. 

The  first  English  fleet,  commanded  by  captain  Weddell, 
having  met  a  cold  reception  at  Macao,  was  finally  moved 
up  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  a  communication  sent 
to  the  commander  of  the  Bogue  forts  near  Canton  ex- 
pressive of  a  desire  to  traffic.  While  waiting  for  a  reply, 
the  Portuguese  employed  the  opportunity  to  misrepresent 
the  English  to  the  authorities, —  furnishing  another  illus- 
tration of  the  contests  of  mercantile  avarice  frequently 
witnessed  in  the  East,  which  has  so  unfavorably  impressed 
the  Chinese  as  to  European  character.  The  commanders 
resolved  to  end  this  disagreeable  controversy  by  expelling 
the  newly-arrived  foreigners.  The  attack  was  begun  by 
firing  upon  a  watering-boat  which  was  passing  near  the 
forts;  whereupon  Weddell's  fleet  displayed  their  ensigns, 
weighed  anchor,  and  moved  up  with  the  flood  to  a  posi- 
tion before  the  castle,  each  ship  immediately  opening  a  furi- 
ous broadside.  A  force  was  dispatched  to  the  shore,  seeing 
which  the  inmates  of  the  castle  fled,  and  the  boats'  crews, 
entering  the  fortification,  displayed  the  colors  of  Great 
Britain  upon  its  walls.  Not  satisfied  with  this  victorious 
result  of  the  sudden  and  unexplained  outbreak  of  hostili- 
ties, they  proceeded  to  fire  the  council-house,  to  demolish 


56  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

what  they  could,  to  convey  on  board  under  cover  of  night 
all  the  ordnance  they  had  found*  within  the  captured 
works,  and  ended  by  seizing  two  merchant  junks.  A 
third  vessel  was  surprised,  by  whose  boat  Weddell  sent 
a  letter  to  the  chief  mandarins  at  Canton,  expostulating 
with  them  for  their  breach  of  truce,  excusing  the  assault 
upon  the  castle,  and  desiring  the  liberty  of  trade.  This 
letter  was  not  replied  to  in  very  gracious  terms;  but, 
after  a  little  negotiation  and  the  return  of  the  captured 
guns  and  vessels,  the  ships  were  supplied  with  cargoes. 
Such  was  the  unhappy  introduction  of  Englishmen  to  the 
Chinese. 

During  the  change  of  dynasty  which  took  place  soon 
after  this  event,  attended  by  numerous  conflicts  and  dep- 
redations of  a  piratical  kind  along  the  coast,  the  trade  of 
all  nations  with  China  probably  suffered  more  or  less.  Not 
until  about  1684  did  the  English  obtain  a  footing  at  Can- 
ton, and  some  )^ears  later  they  opened  a  precarious  trade 
at  Ningpo.  The  whole  history  of  foreign  commerce  with 
China,  up  to  1S40,  is  a  melancholy  and  curious  chapter 
in  the  course  of  international  events.  Instead  of  treaties 
and  embassies,  which  usually  constitute  national  dealings 
with  a  great  people,  there  wrere  negotiations  with  petty 
mandarins  or  provincial  authorities;  and  not  unfrequently, 
the  vast  concerns  of  commerce  were  reduced  to  the  ap- 
pearance of  daily  traffic  or  even  to  the  lawless  art  of 
smuggling.  Among  the  grievances  complained  of  were 
the  delay  in  loading  ships,  and  the  plunder  of  goods  on 
their  transit  to  Canton,  the  extortion  of  the  underlings 
of  office,  the  injurious  proclamations  posted  over  the  coun- 
try accusing  foreigners  of  detestable  crimes,  and  the  diffi- 
culty of  access  to  the  high  authorities.     It  was  but  natural 


TROUBLOUS   TIMES.  57 

that  English  traders,  intent  only  on  the  gainful  results  of 
their  long  and  perilous  voyage,  and  without  the  protection 
of  treaty  stipulations,  should  forget  that  the  ideas  among 
the  Chinese  of  their  rights  over  those  who  visited  their 
shores  were  not  unlike  those  which  once  largely  prevailed 
in  Europe,  especially  before  the  Reformation;  that  the 
levying  of  export  duties  was  really  hut  a  continuation  of 
the  internal  excise  or  transit  duties  paid  upon  goods  ex- 
ported in  native  vessels  as  well  as  foreign;  that,  in  the 
absence  of  light  and  knowledge,  perverse  ideas  of  mari- 
time strangers  from  the  West  would  inevitably  obtain; 
and  that  the  superstitious  reverence  for  high  official  posi- 
tion excluded  the  subject  as  well  as  the  foreigner  from 
easy  approach.  The  want  of  sympathy  and  union  among 
Europeans  themselves  had  the  effect  of  frustrating  their 
attempts  at  securing  the  friendly  offices  of  the  Chinese. 
For  example,  the  British  man-of-war,  Centurion,  captured 
a  Spanish  ship  with  a  valuable  freight  of  treasure  near 
Macao,  with  which  the  commodore  proceeded  to  the  Can- 
ton river,  being  in  want  of  provisions;  but  as  the  man- 
darins had  their  notions  of  "  a  ship  which  went  about  the 
world  seeking  other  ships  in  order  to  take  them,"  they 
caused  numberless  vexatious  delays  in  furnishing  the 
needed  supplies,  until  at  length  the  merchants  suffered  a 
purveyor  to  take  provisions  on  board  without  the  usual 
custom-house  inspection.  The  animosities  which  prevailed 
between  the  English  and  the  French  were  productive  of 
much  trouble  to  both.  In  a  disgraceful  encounter  at 
Whampna,  one  English  sailor  was  shot  and  another  taken 
prisoner;  and,  to  settle  the  affair,  an  appeal  was  made  to 
the  Chinese  government,  which  ultimately  decided  to  allot 
to  the   English   and   French  sailors  separate   and  distinct 


58  THE    FOREIGNER   IN    CHINA. 

islands  for  their  recreation.  In  1773  a  case  of  sangui- 
nary injustice  occurred  at  Macao.  A  native  had  lost  his 
life,  and  an  Englishman,  named  Francis  Scott,  heing  ac- 
cused of  the  murder,  was  tried  and  acquitted  in  the  Portu- 
guese court.  The  mandarin,  however,  obstinately  claimed 
him,  and  threatened  vengeance  upon  the  town  in  case  he 
was  not  delivered.  Although  it  was  urged  in  the  Macao 
senate  that  it  would  be  an  unjustifiable  proceeding  to  con- 
sent to  the  sacrifice  of  an  innocent  man,  the  vicar-general 
reached  a  different  conclusion,  and  justified  himself  in  the 
following  singular  manner:  "Moralists  decide  that  when 
a  tyrant  demands  even  an  innocent  person,  with  menaces 
of  ruin  to  the  community  if  refused,  the  whole  number 
may  call  on  any  individual  to  deliver  himself  up  for  the 
public  good,  which  is  of  more  worth  than  the  life  of  an 
individual.  Should  he  refuse  to  obey,  he  is  not  innocent, 
he  is  criminal." 

The  doomed  man  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  his 
enemies,  making  the  unfortunate  impression  on  the  offi- 
cials and  the  people  at  Canton  that  the  foreigners  could 
not  command  concert  of  action  even  when  unanimous  in 
the  opinion  of  the  justice  of  their  cause,  and  confirming 
their  own  traditional  belief  that  human  life  weighs  little 
in  comparison  with  public  policy  or  material  advantage. 

A  fruitful  source  of  difficulty  between  the  Chinese  and 
English  was  the  turbulent  conduct  of  sailors.  In  the 
above-named  city  a  party  of  seafaring  men  had  been 
drinking  in  one  of  the  native  shops;  a  scuffle  ensued;  the 
crowd  that  assembled  about  the  scene  began  to  insult 
them,  when  the  indignant  and  inebriated  sailors  put  the 
populace  to  flight,  killing  one  of  their  number  in  the  on- 

•  Davis1  "China  and  the  Chinese,"  vol.  i,  pp.  Gl,  66. 


TROUBLOUS   TIMES.  59 

set.  Trade  was  immediately  stopped,  demands  were  made 
and  rejected,  old  and  bitter  feuds  were  revived,  life  and 
property  at  the  port  and  in  every  settlement  on  the  coast 
put  in  jeopardy,  and  the  days  of  peace  and  amity  again 
postponed  to  the  distant  and  uncertain  future. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE   FORTUNES  OF  DIPLOMACY. 

ALLUSION  has  been  made  to  the  unsuccessful  attempt 
■^— *-  of  Great  Britain,  in  1596,  to  open  a  friendly  dip- 
lomatic correspondence  with  the  court  at  Peking.  The  in- 
ability of  the  English  envoy  to  reach  the  distant  capital  of 
China  will  sufficiently  account  for  the  failure  of  his  mis- 
sion. That  the  Russians  were  more  fortunate  in  their 
enterprise  we  have  also  seen. 

In  consequence  of  an  invitation  from  the  provincial 
authorities  at  Canton,  soon  after  the  accession  of  the  first 
Manchoo  emperor,  Shun-chi,  and  desirous  of  opening  the 
way  for  their  commerce  in  the  great  Eastern  emporium, 
the  Dutch  resolved  to  send  an  embassy  to  the  Chinese  seat 
of  goveimment.  Two  eminent  Batavian  merchants,  Goyer 
and  Keyzer,  headed  the  commission.  On  their  arrival  at 
Peking,  they  were  provided  with  lodging  and  entertain- 
ment until  the  time  appointed  for  the  audience.  The  sov- 
ereigns of  the  East  usually  hold  their  levees  at  break  of 
day,  and  in  consequence  of  this  custom  the  embassadors,  to 
their  great  annoyance,  were  conducted  to  the  palace  and 
required  to  remain  over  night,  sitting  in  their  state  dresses 
that  they  might  be  ready  at  the  moment  their  attendance 
was  required.  The  welcome  dawn  appeared  at  length,  when, 
on  a  given  signal,  they,  with  a  motley  group  of  representa- 
tives of  various  tributary  princes,  followed  an  officer  whose 
duty  it  was  to  usher  them  into  the  imperial  presence.     The 

00 


THE    FORTUNES    OF    DIPLOMACY.  61 

hall  of  audience  presented  a  scene  of  extraordinary  pomp 
and  splendor.  The  glittering  dresses  of  the  attendants, 
the  gorgeous  banners  displayed  on  every  side,  the  superb 
throne,  around  which  were  held  on  high  golden  figures  of  the 
sun  and  silver  circles  representing  the  moon,  together  with 
the  crowd  of  mandarins  in  their  state  robes,  produced  a 
most  imposing  effect.  "  The  Emperor  had  not  yet  made  his 
appearance,  but  all  the  embassadors  were  directed  to  pros- 
trate themselves  three  times  before  the  empty  throne,  and 
at  each  time  of  kneeling  to  bow  down  their  heads  to  the 
ground  three  times  till  their  foreheads  touched  the  marble 
flooring.  The  sound  of  bells  soon  announced  the  approach 
of  Shun-chi,  and  all  present  fell  on  their  knees  as  he 
ascended  the  steps,  every  eye  being  bent  toward  the  earth, 
as  if  none  were  worthy  to  look  upon  him.  He  walked  up 
the  hall  with  a  stately  air,  and  seated  himself  on  the 
throne,  when  the  whole  assembly  arose,  and  the  different 
envoys  were  led  forward  to  do  him  homage  by  a  repetition 
of  the  nine  prostrations;  but  not  a  single  word,  nor  even 
the  slightest  mark  of  notice,  did  the  haughty  Tartar  vouch- 
safe to  the  disappointed  Europeans,  who  withdrew  with  no 
very  kindly  feelings  toward  a  prince  before  whom  they  had 
humbled  themselves  to  so  little  purpose."  * 

Their  presents,  however,  were  received,  and  others  given 
in  return,  and  permission  was  granted  to  send  an  embassy 
once  in  eight  years,  at  which  time  their  countrymen  might 
come  in  four  ships  to  trade.  The  ill  success  of  these  dip- 
lomates  has  been  ascribed  to  some  adverse  influence  of  the 
Jesuits,  who  were  then  powerful  at  court;  but  it  may  have 
been  owing  more  to  the  contempt  in  which  the  Dutch 
people  were  held,  both  by  the  Tartars  and  Chinese,  in  con- 

*  '•  CliiiiH  mid  India,"  by  Kobcrt  .Siiirh,   pp.  1)1-2. 


(V2  TIIK    FOREIGNER   IN    CHINA. 

sequence  of  the  report  brought  to  their  ears  that  there  was 
no  emperor  or  king  in  Holland;  for,  being  unable  to  com- 
prehend the  nature  of  a  republic,  they  imagined  that  a 
nation  must  be  very  poor  and  mean  which  could  not  afford 
to  maintain  a  king.  The  forcible  seizure  of  the  Pescadores 
by  Dutch  adventurers,  some  years  before,  and  their  occupa- 
tion of  Formosa,  may  also  have  contributed  largely  to  this 
result. 

The  political  status  of  foreigners  in  China  had  from  the 
first  been  uncertain  and  unsatisfactory.  The  monopoly  of 
English  trade  being  in  the  hands  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, their  Committee  were  empowered  with  large  jurisdic- 
tion over  British  subjects,  which  could  be  exercised  in  try- 
ing emergencies;  but  the  consuls  of  other  nations  had  little 
or  no  authority  over  their  countrymen.  The  "  outside- 
kingdom  men"  constituted  a  community  by  themselves, 
subject  chiefly  to  their  own  sense  of  honor  in  their  mutual 
dealings.  Their  relations  with  the  Chinese  were  reduced 
simply  to  a  "state  of  nature."  The  arrival  of  a  new  gov- 
ernor-general, or  collector  of  customs,  or  senior  hong- 
merchant,  involved  a  new  course  of  policy,  according  to 
the  personal  character  or  individual  prejudice  of  those 
functionaries.  The  want  of  a  well-understood  tariff  en- 
couraged smuggling,  and  this  in  turn  provoked  a  spirit  of 
bitterness  and  retaliation  between  the  native  and  foreign 
merchants,  which  sometimes  ended  in  a  conflict  with  civil 
authority.  There  was  no  acknowledged  medium  of  com- 
munication; and  the  consuls,  not  being  credited  by  the 
Chinese  government,  could  command  neither  respect  nor 
recognition  for  their  flags.  To  this  state  of  things  must  be 
added  the  financial  distress.  The  repeated  failures  of  hong- 
merchants  for  very  large  sums  due  their  European  credit- 


THE    FOKTUNES   OF    DIPLOMACY.  63 

ors,  which  there  seemed  no  probability  of  recovering,  ap- 
pealed to  the  strongest  instincts  of  fear  and  anxiety  in  the 
foreign  breast.  The  British  government  was  at  length 
induced  to  turn  its  attention  to  the  situation  of  the  King's 
subjects  in  China,  with  the  purpose  of  placing  their  rela- 
tions on  a  more  secure  footing;  and  the  Crown  decided  to 
send  an  embassy  to  Peking. 

Colonel  Cathcart  was  appointed  envoy  in  1788;  but  his 
death  in  the  Straits  of  Sunda  temporarily  deferred  the 
undertaking.  In  1792  the  Earl  of  Macartney  received  the 
royal  commission,  and  accordingly  proceeded  from  England 
in  the  Lion,  a  sixty-four  gun  ship,  accompanied  by  Sir 
George  Leonard  Staunton  as  secretary  of  legation.  His 
Lordship  was  instructed  to  obtain,  if  possible,  the  permission 
of  the  Emperor  to  trade  at  Ningpo,  Chu-san,  Tien-tsin,  and 
other  places  besides  Canton,  and  to  secure  such  various 
advantages  as  might  be  obtained  for  the  relief  of  British 
commerce  in  those  parts. 

That  we  may  fully  understand  the  difficult  and  delicate 
nature  of  the  mission  undertaken  by  the  plenipotentiary, 
a  slight  digression  may  be  allowed  at  this  point,  to  show 
the  Chinese  estimate  of  certain  questions  necessarily  in- 
volved in  diplomatic  intercourse  with  the  outside  world. 

The  reigning  Emperor  is  regarded  by  his  subjects  as  the 
chosen  agent  and  representative  on  earth  of  the  Ruler  of 
the  Universe.  As  such  representative,  his  authority  is  un- 
limited, except  by  Divine  principles.  He  is  the  only  source 
of  law  and  dispenser  of  mercy;  the  supreme  criminal 
judge,  legislator,  executive,  and  commander  of  the  forces. 
He  is  also  Pontifex  Maximus.  Standing  at  the  head  of  re- 
ligion, he  appears  as  the  mediator  between  Heaven  and 
his   people,  the  only  one  qualified    to  adore  the  Supreme 


64  THE    FOREIGKEE   IN   CHINA. 

Powers.  He  is  Lord  of  the  soil;  all  the  forces  and  reve- 
nues of  the  empire  are  his,  and  he  has  a  claim  to  the 
services  of  all  males  between  the  years  of  sixteen  and 
sixty.  No  claim  can  be  maintained  against  him;  no  right 
can  be  held  in  opposition  to  his  pleasure;  no  privi- 
lege or  immunity  can  serve  as  a  protection  against  his 
wrath.  As  the  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  his  sovereignty  is  abso- 
lute and  universal,  not  alone  over  China,  but  extending 
by  Divine  right  to  "  all  between  the  four  seas."  This  as- 
sumption is  at  least  four  thousand  years  old;  it  has  sur- 
vived many  revolutions;  it  has  gathered  strength  by  the 
triumphs  of  many  illustrious  dynasties;  and  it  is  ardently 
supported  by  the  most  numerous  official  and  the  most  pow- 
erful literary  class  in  the  world.  Every  device  of  state 
is  used  to  give  the  impression  of  awe  to  all  who  approach 
the  court  of  this  oriental  monarch.  No  person,  of  what- 
ever rank,  is  allowed  to  pass  before  the  outer  gate  of  the 
palace  in  any  vehicle,  or  on  horseback.  The  vacant  throne, 
or  a  sci*een  of  yellow  silk,  is  ecpaally  worshiped  with  his 
actual  presence.  An  imperial  dispatch  is  received  in  the 
most  distant  provinces  with  offerings  of  incense  and  pros- 
tration, looking  toward  the  capital.  In  all  the  chief  tem- 
ples of  the  land  a  tablet  is  erected  with  the  imperial  title 
Wan  Sui  Yea,  "  Sire  of  Ten  Thousand  Years,"  at  whose 
shrine  multitudes  pay  the  same  adoration  as  to  the  gods. 
In  the  principal  audience  hall  of  the  palace  there  is  an 
elevated  and  paved  walk  on  which  none  can  tread  but 
the  Emperor.  When  accessible  to  his  adoring  subjects,  on 
state  occasions,  he  occupies  a  high  seat  in  the  center  of 
a  vast  and  gloomy  hall.  Arrayed  in  double  rows  are  the 
civil  officers  of  the  realm  on  the  east  side,  and  the  mili- 
tary on  the  west.     Nearest   to   the  hall   steps,  and  upon 


THE    FORTUNES    OF    DIPLOMACY.  65 

them,  are  the  princes  of  the  first  and  second  degree,  with 
the  Manchoo  lords,  followed  by  the  five  orders  of  nobility, 
and  these  succeeded  by  the  mandarins  of  nine  grades.  In 
the  open  space  below,  and  distant  from  the  throne,  is 
performed  the  immemorial  ceremony  of  the  nine  prostra- 
tions before  the  unseen  Emperor,  who,  deep  in  the  recesses 
of  the  hall,  is  concealed  still  more  completely  by  a  cloud 
of  incense. 

Lord  Macartney,  discarding  the  theory  that  the  kotow 
was  nothing  but  a  ceremony,  regarded  it  as  a  solemn  rite 
by  which  the  rulers  of  petty  kingdoms  had  long  been  ac- 
customed to  do  homage,  through  their  emissaries,  and 
was  therefore  to  be  construed  as  an  act  of  vassalage  if 
consented  to  on  his  part.  He  therefore  refused  to  pros- 
trate himself  before  the  Emperor  in  the  presence  of  his 
court,  unless  a  Chinese  of  equal  rank  should  pay  the 
same  reverence  to  a  picture  of  the  King  of  England.  The 
effect  at  Peking  was  not  simply  an  impression  that  Great 
Britain  must  not  be  registered  among  tributary  nations. 
A  purpose  was  formed  that  the  proud  embassador  of 
England  should  take  his  departure  with  no  one  purpose 
of  his  mission  fulfilled.  But  he  was  to  be  flattered  with 
the  appearance  of  success,  in  order  to  assure  a  diplomatic 
triumph.  Enormous  sums  were  expended  by  the  Tartar 
government  in  the  entertainment  of  Macartney  and  his 
suite,  and  the  English  historian  has  dwelt  with  much  com- 
placency upon  the  splendor  of  the  reception  which  China 
gave  her  European  guests, —  the  walks  in  the  magnificent 
gardens  of  the  Emperor,  the  picturesque  and  romantic 
navigation  upon  the  imperial  canal,  and  the  many  other 
evidences  of  regal  hospitality  and  of  high  consideration 
at  court.  And  yet  all  discussions  on  matters  of  busi- 
3* 


66  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

ness  were  politely  and  studiously  evaded  by  the  Chinese 
ministers  and  mandarins  during  the  residence  of  the  em- 
bassy at  Peking;  but,  in  his  letter  to  the  King  of  England, 
the  Emperor  did  not  omit  to  state  distinctly  that  the 
British  commerce  must  be  strictly  limited  to  the  port  of 
Canton.  "  You  will  not  be  able  to  complain,"  adds  he 
haughtily,  "that  I  had  not  clearly  forewarned  you.  Let 
us  therefore  live  in  peace  and  friendship,  and  do  not  make 
light  of  my  words."  Ignorant  as  yet  of  what  had  actu- 
ally transpired,  and  hoping  that  the  embassy  had  been 
successful  in  conciliating  the  good-will  of  the  Chinese 
government  toward  British  trade,  His  Britannic  Majesty 
followed  it  up  by  a  letter  to  the  Emperor,  accompanied 
by  presents.  The  Viceroy  at  Canton  received  the  address 
with  much  satisfaction,  and  forwarded  it,  together  with 
the  presents,  to  Peking;  and  the  record  was  duly  entered 
in  the  provincial  archives  that  tribute  had  been  sent  by 
the  King  of  England  to  the  "  Son  of  Heaven." 

English  hauteur  and  Tartar  finesse  were  unequal  powers 
in  this  remarkable  contest.  But  it  may  not  be  denied 
that  certain  substantial  advantages  resulted  from  the 
mission.  It  afforded  the  native  government  an  opportu- 
nity of  preparing  for  that  future  intercourse  which  could 
not  be  avoided,  and  of  acquiring  information  concerning 
foreign  nations  which  would  in  various  ways  be  made 
available  in  every  peaceful  or  warlike  encounter.  But 
the  benefit  was  merely  temporary  and  not  very  obvious. 
It  is  true  that  the  trade  went  on  without  interruption 
for  some  years,  and  the  mandarins  improved  in  their  con- 
duct toward  the  merchants;  yet  the  demands  and  duties 
were  rather  increased  than  diminished,  and  the  personal 
libert}'  of  foreigners  gradually  restricted  within  narrower 


THE   FORTUNES   OF    DIPLOMACY.  67 

limits.  The  dissolute  and  violent  conduct  of  traders  on 
shore,  and  of  the  merchant-marine,  gave  frequent  occa- 
sion to  the  Chinese  for  aspersions  and  exactions,  which 
treatment  had  the  effect  to  irritate  Europeans  rather  than 
to  alter  or  modify  their  conduct,  according  to  a  principle 
of  ethics  well  known  and  widely  practiced  in  Eastern 
countries  a  century  and  more  ago,  i.  e.,  that  the  heathen 
have  no  rights  which  a  Christian  people  are  bound  to  re- 
spect. 

The  ill  success  of  Macartney's  embassy  induced  the 
colonial  Dutch  government  at  Batavia  to  send  a  mission  of 
salutation  and  respect  to  the  Emperor  Kien-lung,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  reaching  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  reign.  It 
was  hoped,  by  conforming  to  Chinese  ceremonies,  to  obtain 
concessions  that  would  give  their  trade  an  advanced  and 
superior  position  north  of  the  Straits  of  Sunda.  Isaac 
Titsingh,  late  chief  commissioner  to  Japan,  was  duly  accred- 
ited, and  sent  with  a  somewhat  imposing  cortege  of  clerks 
and  interpreters.  Van  Braam,  who  accompanied  the  mis- 
sion as  second  to  his  chief,  gave  to  the  world  a  most  humil- 
iating account  of  their  adventures  in  the  Chinese  capital. 
They  obsequiously  yielded  to  every  demand  of  court  eti- 
quette, although  at  times  they  must  have  been  much  em- 
barrassed in  making  unfamiliar  and  extravagant  genuflec- 
tions and  prostrations  in  their  close-fitting  dress.  They 
were  entertained  with  banquets  and  theatrical  shows;  they 
were  even  allowed  to  perforin  many  skillful  evolutions 
upon  their  skates,  to  the  gratification  of  the  Emperor,  and 
to  receive  a  present  of  broken  victuals  from  his  own  table; 
but  they  were  not  permitted  to  speak  about  the  all-impor- 
tant affairs  that  had  induced  them  to  take  their  long  and 
perilous  journey.     They  were  graciously  allowed  to  depart, 


68  THE    FOREIOXER    IN   CHIN\. 

but  without  having  accomplished  a  single  object,  except 
saluting  the  Emperor. 

The  American  flag  was  first  hoisted  at  Canton  in  the 
year  1802.  The  consular  agent  for  the  United  States  was 
at  that  time,  and  for  years  subsecpuently,  appointed  from 
among  the  merchants  resident  in  China,  and  called  by  the 
natives  a  Toe-pan,  or  "  factory-chief,"  who  had  no  salary 
whatever  from  his  government,  but  was  permitted  to  levy 
fees  in  business  transactions  with  his  countrymen,  and  to 
freely  trade  on  his  own  account.  A  national  representa- 
tive, however,  who  was  nothing  more  than  a  commercial 
officer,  did  not  add  much  of  importance  or  dignity  to.  the 
American  name,  and  could  have  little  weight  with  the 
authorities  in  any  great  discussion  or  impending  crisis. 
During  our  war  of  1812  a  British  frigate  cruised  off  the 
port  of  Canton  to  seize  American  vessels.  Ignorant  of  the 
principles  on  which  international  intercourse  is  regulated 
among  Western  nations,  and  regarding  every  hostile  dem- 
onstration between  them  in  their  waters  as  in  a  measure 
directed  toward  themselves,  the  provincial  authorities  or- 
dered the  Committee  of  the  East  India  Company  to  send  the 
war  vessel  away,  saying  that  if  the  English  and  Americans 
had  any  petty  squabbles  they  must  settle  them  between 
themselves  and  not  bring  them  to  China.  The  Committee 
represented  their  inability  to  control  the  movements  of 
men-of-war;  whereupon  the  Chinese  began  a  series  of  petty 
and  vexatious  annoyances  against  the  merchants  and  ship- 
ping, such  as  prohibiting  the  employment  of  native  ser- 
vants, the  sudden  arrest  of  employes,  delaying  the  loading 
of  vessels,  etc.  A  serious,  and  at  one  time  very  threatening, 
state  of  things  succeeded;  but  the  negotiations  carried  on 
by  the  Committee  with  the  governor  were  apparently  more 


THE    FORTUNES    OF    DIPLOMACY.  69 

successful  than  the  work  of  the  professional  diploraates  at 
Peking  a  few  years  before.  Three  important  points  were 
gained,  viz.,  the  right  of  corresponding  with  the  govern- 
ment under  seal  in  the  Chinese  language,  the  unmolested 
employment  of  native  servants,  and  the  assurance  that  the 
houses  of  foreigners  should  not  be  entered  to  make  arrests 
without  permission;  nor  were  these  stipulations  ever  re- 
tracted or  violated. 

The  revenue  accruing  to  the  general  government  from 
duties  and  presents,  and  the  employment  given  to  millions 
of  natives  in  different  parts  of  the  empire  in  the  prepara- 
tion and  shipment  of  articles  in  demand  for  foreign  coun- 
tries, had  caused  Canton  to  become  one  of  the  greatest 
marts  in  the  world.  The  continuation  of  the  East  India 
Company's  charter  depended  largely  upon  their  furnishing 
a  regular  and  ample  supply  of  tea  for  the  English  market. 
But  notwithstanding  this  community  of  interest  in  a  peace- 
ful and  growing  commerce,  partly  through  ignorance  of 
,|he  true  principles  of  international  comity  and  of  trade, 
partly  on  account  of  other  reasons  already  mentioned,  the 
few  half-imprisoned  foreigners  were  constantly  restricted, 
and  the  very  existence  of  all  commercial  relations  put  in 
jeopardy.  The  British  Foreign  Office,  nominally  under 
George  III,  but  really  under  the  Prince  Regent,  being  in- 
formed of  the  critical  situation  in  China,  and  fully  aware 
that  upon  a  happy  solution  of  this  old  and  vexed  question 
in  the  Far  East  certain  important  problems  in  India  and 
other  distant  parts  of  the  world  depended,  resolved  to  dis- 
patch another  embassy  to  China,  in  order,  if  possible,  to 
agree  upon  some  definite  mode  of  conducting  trade,  and  of 
communicating  with  the  heads  of  government. 

Lord  Amherst,  nephew  of  the  nobleman  by  that  name 


70  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

who  was  once  governor  of  Virginia,  and  later  the  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  British  army,  was  appointed  em- 
bassador-extraordinary  to  Peking.  Accompanied  by  Henry 
Ellis  and  Sir  Geoi-ge  T.  Staunton,  as  second  and  third  com- 
missioners, with  a  suite  of  able  men,  and  the  illustrious 
missionary  Dr.  Morrison  as  principal  interpreter,  the  mis- 
sion reached  its  destination,  August  28, 1816.  The  unseemly 
haste  of  courtiers  to  bring  the  dust-stained  travelers  at 
once  before  His  Majesty,  and  the  refusal  of  the  embassy  to 
conform  to  the  prescribed  etiquette  of  the  court,  were  fol- 
lowed by  summary  dismissal  without  an  audience.  This 
abrupt  termination  of  a  distinguished  and  well-appointed 
mission  naturally  becomes  to  us  a  subject  of  speculation. 
It  does  not  seem  probable,  as  some  have  conjectured,  that 
this  fiasco  was  solely  on  account  of  the  subject  of  cere- 
monial observance,  important  and  significant  as  that  may 
have  been.  Lord  Macartney,  who  declined  submitting  to 
the  prostration,  was  more  honorably  received  than  almost 
any  other  embassador  that  ever  entered  China;  and  we  are> 
not  at  liberty  wholly  to  discredit  the  Emperor  Kea-king's 
profession  of  ignorance  as  to  the  matter.  There  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  the  failure  of  the  mission  should  be 
attributed  to  the  intrigues  of  the  provincial  government 
at  Canton,  whose  emissaries,  in  connection  with  the  high 
officers  about  the  throne,  doubtless  predetermined  the 
course  of  events.  One  object  of  the  embassy  was  to  com- 
plain of  the  Canton  governor,  who  had  inflicted  so  many 
vexations  on  the  English;  and  that  functionary,  who  was 
powerful  at  court,  could  not  be  expected  to  remain  a  quiet 
observer  of  transactions  which  might  involve  the  loss  of  his 
fortune  and  his  life.  This  theory  is  further  confirmed  by 
the  fact  that  the  journey   of  Lord  Amherst  through   the 


THE    FORTUNES   OF    DIPLOMACY.  71 

interior  to  Canton  was  permitted  without  interruption,  or 
any  sign  of  unfriendliness  from  officials,  and  that  his 
return  to  England  was  followed  by  a  longer  period  of 
trancp^illity,  and  of  freedom  from  Chinese  annoyances,  than 
had  ever  been  experienced  before.  It  is  plain  that  the 
Dragon  Throne  had  suffered  no  indignity  from  the  King's 
representative,  because  the  imperial  command  to  appear 
in  audience  had  not  been  given;  and  it  seems  altogether 
probable  that  the  Viceroy  of  Canton  was  content  to  rest 
with  the  present  success  of  his  scheme,  without  venturing 
upon  any  new  provocation  which  might  result  disastrously 
to  himself. 

On  his  arrival  at  Canton,  Lord  Amherst  was  duly  in- 
formed that  a  letter  from  the  Emperor  for  the  Prince 
Regent  awaited  him,  which  the  governor  was  bound  to 
deliver  to  him  in  person.  Whereupon  it  was  resolved  by 
his  lordship  not  to  consent  to  any  meeting  with  that  dig- 
nitary, although  he  possessed  the  exalted  rank  of  viceroy, 
unless  the  first  place  was  yielded  to  himself  and  the  com- 
missioners. Accordingly,  a  yellow  tent  was  erected,  in 
which  the  governor,  reverently  lifting  above  his  head  with 
both  hands  the  Emperor's  message,  which  was  wrapped  in 
a  roll  of  yellow  silk,  delivered  it  with  much  solemnity  into 
the  embassador's  keeping.  The  whole  party  then  repaired 
to  an  adjoining  tent,  where  the  superior  rank  and  place  of 
honor  was  assumed  by  Lord  Amherst.  The  haughty  man- 
darin betrayed  his  unfriendly  feelings;  but  an  attempt  of 
his  to  be  uncivil  was  met  with  such  a  sturdy  British  recep- 
tion as  made  him  shrink  from  further  contact  with  his 
guests,  and  he  closed  the  ceremonies  of  the  day  with  a 
hurried  leave-taking. 

We  havf  now  reached  an  important  epoch  in  the  history 


72  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

of  foreign  intercourse  with  China.  Having  seen  how 
Spanish,  Portuguese  and  other  navigators  carried  their 
clumsy  but  wonderful  craft  into  Chinese  ports,  and  thereby 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  commerce  which  must  be  reckoned 
among  the  greatest  achievements  of  modern  enterprise, 
while  by  their  acts  they  sowed  those  first  seeds  of  ill-will 
and  distrust,  the  bitter  fruits  of  which  the  generations 
following  were  destined  to  reap,  we  ai'e  brought  at  length 
to  look  upon  the  dark  picture  of  the  first  representative 
Christian  nation  of  the  world  in  deadly  conflict  with  a 
heathen  people,  whose  natural  instincts  were  for  peace,  and 
not  for  war. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ORIGIN   OF   THE   OPIUM  WAR, 

/~\N  the  22d  of  April,  1834,  the  trade  of  the  East  India 
^^  Company  with  China,  after  having  continued  just  two 
hundred  years,  terminated  according  to  the  provisions  of 
"  the  new  act."  Their  transactions  had  been  exclusively 
with  the  hong-merchants,  who  constituted  a  corporation  for 
that  purpose,  under  restrictive  orders  from  Peking;  and 
the  two  close-trading  companies  had  from  the  first  served 
as  "  international  buffers."  An  experiment  was  now  to  be 
tried  which  alone  could  set  at  rest  the  question  of  the 
expediency  of  free  trade  against  the  Chinese  monopoly. 
The  English  government,  deeming  the  change  about  to  be 
inaugurated  one  of  great  importance,  concluded  to  place 
the  control  of  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a  commission  of 
experienced  men.  The  King  therefore  appointed  the  Right 
Hon.  Lord  Napier  chief  superintendent  of  British  trade, 
who  arrived  at  Macao  July  15,  1834.  Associated  with 
him  in  the  commission  were  John  P.  Davis  and  Sir  G.  B. 
Robinson,  formerly  servants  of  the  company,  together  with 
a  number  of  secretaries,  surgeons,  interpreters,  and  a 
chaplain,  whose  united  salaries  amounted  to  £18,200. 
Being  probably  unaware  of  the  long-standing  rule  which 
would  require  him  to  remain  aloof  from  the  provincial 
city  until  orders  should  be  received  from  the  capital  giv- 
ing directions  to  the  Viceroy  how  to  treat  the  English 
superintendent,    and    of    the    necessity   of   awaiting    legal 

4  73 


74  tin:    FOREIGNER   IN   CHINA. 

permission  to  proceed,  he  at  once  visited  Canton.  This 
uuusual  and  hasty  proceeding  awakened  the  apprehen- 
sions of  the  Viceroy,  who  in  delaying  the  formal  recep- 
tion had  only  acted  in  conformity  with  the  duties  of  his 
official  position.  Knowing  that  he  might  be  held  respon- 
sible to  his  government  for  this  infraction  of  order  and 
etiquette,  he  issued  an  edict  addressed  to  the  hong-mer- 
chants setting  forth  the  official  view  of  the  case,  couched 
in  language  distasteful  to  the  foreigner  and  at  the  same 
time  calculated  to  inspire  in  the  native  mind  a  feeling  of 
contempt  for  barbarian  manners. 

Lord  Palmerston,  in  his  letter  of  instructions  to  the 
superintendent,  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  he 
was  expected  to  discover  the  best  means  of  preparing 
the  way  for  direct  communications  with  Peking,  but  did 
not  fail  to  add  the  wise  and  statesman-like  suggestion, 
"  bearing  constantly  in  mind,  however,  that  peculiar  cau- 
tion and  circumspection  will  be  indispensable  on  this 
point,  lest  you  should  awaken  the  fears  or  offend  the 
prejudices  of  the  Chinese  government,  and  thus  put  to 
hazard  even  the  existing  opportunities  of  intercourse  by 
a  precipitate  attempt  to  extend  them."  Careful  adher- 
ence to  these  instructions  would  have  produced  a  differ- 
ent impression  from  that  which  now  unfortunately  ex- 
isted. 

The  Viceroy's  estimate  of  the  importance  and  dignity 
of  the  superintendent's  office  may  be  inferred  from  these 
words,  which  occurred  in  the  before-mentioned  edict:  "As 
to  his  object  in  coming  to  Canton,  it  is  for  commercial 
business.  The  Celestial  Empire  appoints  officers,  civil  ones 
to  rule  the  people,  military  ones  to  intimidate  the  wicked. 
The  petty  affairs  of   commerce  are  to  be  directed   by  the 


ORIGIN    OF   THE   OPIUM    WAK.  75 

merchants  themselves;  the  officers  have  nothing  to  hear 
on  the  subject."  Notwithstanding  the  evidence  of  his 
far-seeing  wisdom  in  arranging  some  of  the  details  of  this 
commission,  the  great  Palmerston  committed  a  blunder 
in  statecraft  when  he  sent  out  Lord  Napier  to  perform 
the  most  difficult  task  yet  attempted  by  a  representative 
Englishman  in  China,  at  the  same  time  denying  him  the 
right  to  treat  with  the  government  at  Peking,  and  with- 
holding due  notification  of  the  appointment  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Canton.  The  exact  nature  of  the  case  is  thus 
put  by  Dr.  Williams :  ':  The  court  of  St.  James  chose  to 
send  out  a  superintendent  of  trade,  an  officer  partaking 
of  both  ministerial  and  consular  powers,  and  ordering  him 
to  act  in  a  certain  manner,  involving  a  partial  violation 
of  the  regulations  of  the  country  where  he  was  going, 
without  providing  for  the  alternative  of  his  rejection."* 
Having  been  instructed  to  report  himself  by  letter  at 
Canton,  Lord  Napier  made  an  attempt  to  do  so,  but  the 
officials  declined  to  receive  his  communication.  At  the 
same  time,  this  occurrence  was  reported  at  court,  in  a 
memorial  from  the  Viceroy,  who  represented  to  His  Im- 
perial Majesty  that  the  English  superintendent  had  pre- 
sented a  letter,  the  face  of  the  envelope  bearing  the  forms 
and  style  of  equality,  although  there  was  no  means  of 
thoroughly  ascertaining  whether  the  writer  had  or  had  not 
official  rank,  and  also  setting  forth  that  orders  had  been 
issued  to  the  hong-merchants  to  convey  to  him  the  regula- 
tions of  the  Chinese  government,  and  that  the  dignity  and 
sovereignty  of  the  Emperor  should  be  maintained,  whose 
mandate  and  pleasure  in  the  premises  were  humbly  im- 
plored. 

*"  Middle  Kingdom,"  vol.  ii.  p.  472. 


76  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

The  English  commerce  had  hitherto  been  managed  by 
the  factory  chiefs  and  the  hong-merchants,  and  this  new 
departure  in  the  attempt  to  formally  associate  trade  with 
the  functions  of  the  magistrate  could  not  be  at  once  ap- 
proved and  adopted  in  the  absence  of  instructions  from 
the  supreme  authority.  Any  variation  from  the  usual 
and  accepted  order  of  things  is  a  matter  of  suspicion  to 
the  Chinese,  especially  where  dealings  are  to  be  had  with 
foreignei*s  whose  integrity  and  uprightness  have  not  been 
demonstrated  by  former  experience.  Moreover,  to  have 
granted  official  intercourse  by  letter,  in  the  view  of  the 
native  authorities,  would  have  been  to  acknowledge  the 
King  of  England  as  equal  if  not  superior  to  the  Emperor, 
and  to  permit  foreign  traders  to  come  into  their  borders 
as  equals,  subject  to  no  laws  and  customs,  and  to  have 
opened  the  door  for  resistance  to  their  authority,  for 
armed  opposition  to  their  control,  and  so  preparing  the 
way  for  the  final  possession  of  their  territory.  That  the 
latter  idea  was  really  entertained  and  feared,  is  proven 
by  various  circumstances,  and  is  hinted  at  by  the  Vicero}T 
in  his  edict  stopping  the  trade,  when,  speaking  of  the 
necessity  of  restraining  the  movements  of  Lord  Napier, 
he  says,  "  With  regard  to  territory,  it  would  also  have 
its  consequences.'1  The  frequent  displays  of  naval  force, 
and  the  prompt  and  vigorous  resort  to  superior  arma- 
ments on  almost  every  serious  provocation,  could  but  tend 
to  confirm  this  fear. 

The  injudicious  conduct  of  the  English  representative 
is  further  illustrated  by  the  issuance  of  a  proclamation  to 
the  people,  in  which  he  detailed  the  principal  events  which 
had  transpired  since  his  arrival,  laying  the  whole  blame 
upon  the  "  ignorance  and  obstinacy  "  of  the  governor  in  re- 


ORIGIN    OF   THE    OPIUM    WAR.  77 

fusing  to  receive  his  letter,  and  closing  with  these  words: 
"  The  merchants  of  Great  Britain  wish  to  trade  with  all 
China  on  principles  of  mutual  benefit;  they  will  never 
relax  in  their  exertions  till  they  gain  a  point  of  equal 
importance  to  both  countries,  and  the  Viceroy  will  find  it 
as  easy  to  stop  the  current  of  Canton  river  as  to  carry 
into  effect  the  insane  determination  of  the  Hong.'"  The 
people  were  highly  excited  and  divided  in  their  opinions 
concerning  this  strange  proceeding,  and  the  governor  was 
irritated  beyond  measure  at  the  publicly-expressed  con- 
tempt of  his  authority  and  character.  The  trade  had  al- 
ready been  interdicted,  but  the  governor  had  evinced  a 
desire,  through  his  deputation,  to  make  some  amicable  ar- 
rangement with  the  superintendent,  when  this  occur- 
rence dispelled  almost  the  last  hope  of  ever  arriving  at 
terms  of  accommodation. 

Two  frigates  were  ordered  up  to  protect  the  shipping 
and  persons  of  British  subjects,  and  these  being  fired  upon 
from  the  Bogue  forts  returned  the  fire,  although  little 
damage  was  done  to  either.  Troops  were  stationed  on 
both  sides,  but  neither  party  seemed  inclined  to  continue 
hostilities.  Lord  Napier  finally  announced  his  determina- 
tion to  retire  to  Macao,  until  reference  could  be  made  to 
England;  and  a  fortnight  after  his  arrival,  and  just  three 
months  from  the  time  of  landing,  he  died  in  the  Portu- 
guese settlement,  his  demise,  no  doubt,  being  hastened  by 
the  harassing  nature  of  his  position  at  Canton,  which  he 
had  been  compelled  to  endure  in  the  trying  season  of  a 
tropical  climate,  and  the  sufferings  and  annoyances  he 
had  experienced  in  the  passage  down. 

In  this  whole  transaction  we  may  discern,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  usual  native  ignorance  of  foreign  customs  and 


78  THE    FOREIGNER   IN    CHINA. 

the  misapprehension  of  the  foreigner  s  real  motive  in  his 
almost  every  act, — the  inability,  because  of  lack  of  oppor- 
tunity, to  discern  between  the  Portuguese  and  English 
character, — the  superstitious  folly  which  more  or  less  marks 
every  private  and  public  transaction  of  importance,  and 
the  pitiable  notion  of  superiority  to  all  outside  people  who 
come  for  traffic  but  come  with  tribute  to  <:  range  them- 
selves under  the  renovating  influence  of  the  glorious  sun 
of  the  Celestial  Empire";  and,  on  the  other  hand,  we  ob- 
serve the  Englishman's  contempt  of  everything  below  the 
level  of  his  own  civilization,  his  religious  regard  for  the 
rights  of  trade  in  defiance  of  all  other  rights,  his  impa- 
tience with  idle  ceremony  and  empty  forms  of  official 
etiquette  when  they  seem  to  hinder  his  grasp  on  the  rich 
rewards  of  commerce,  and  his  idea  that  the  principles  of 
equal  justice  and  common  brotherhood  are  to  be  regarded 
as  of  no  binding  force  wherever  dealings  are  had  with 
the  inferior  races.  This  intimate  contact  of  opinions  and 
traditions  wholly  at  variance,  with  no  tie  to  conciliate  or 
unite  them  except  the  selfish  greed  of  gain,  and  the  mis- 
understanding which  would  arise  from  mutual  ignorance 
of  the  situation,  to  be  adjusted  through  the  medium  of  a 
strange  language, —  often  ill-spoken  and  ill-written  by  in- 
competent linguists, —  made  necessary  a  war  of  words  to 
be  succeeded  by  deeds  of  blood. 

That  eminent  statesman,  ex-president  Adams,  was  mis- 
taken, however,  when,  in  his  public  lecture  upon  the 
Anglo-Chinese  question,  he  pronounced  the  rejection  of 
Lord  Napier's  letter  and  mission  a  sufficient  reason  for 
war  and  the  real  cause  of  the  subsequent  contest.  Un- 
doubtedly those  occurrences,  and  the  bad  blood  engendered 
by  them,  had  their  far-reaching  and   unhappy  influence; 


OEIGIN    OF   THE    OPIUM    WAR.  79 

but  we  are  to  look  in  another  direction  for  the  immedi- 
ate occasion  of  active  hostilities. 

The  exactions  of  the  Portuguese  at  Macao  drove  from 
that  place  the  opium  trade,  in  1822,  to  Lintin,  a  small 
island  near  the  entrance  of  the  Canton  river.  Here  be- 
gan a  system  of  smuggling  which  soon  extended  along 
the  coast,  until  nearly  every  small  vessel  outside  the  ports 
was  engaged  in  it.  The  system  of  exclusion  practiced  by 
the  general  government  was  deemed  sufficient  justification 
of  this  form  of  traffic,  and  the  local  government  had  so 
far  placed  itself  in  a  false  position,  with  respect  to  the 
Emperor  as  well  as  to  Europeans,  by  its  long  course  of 
secret  and  corrupt  practices  in  relation  to  the  prohibited 
drug,  that  it  was  disabled  from  interfering  to  protect  its 
own  subjects  at  Lintin.  Here  lay  armed  smugglers  in 
open  defiance  of  all  law  and  control,  and  natives  were, 
on  several  occasions,  shot  from  the  decks  of  these  ships. 
In  one  notorious  case  an  English  subject  actually  set  fire 
to  a  mandarin's  house.* 

The  new  superintendent  of  trade  remained  at  Lintin, 
on  board  a  small  cutter,  during  the  season  of  1835-6;  and 
while  here  he  sent  a  communication  to  his  government, 
which  must  be  regarded  as  a  remarkable  dispatch  to  be 
sent  by  the  representative  of  a  Christian  nation  writing 
from  the  midst  of  a  fleet  of  smugglers  on  the  shore  of 
a  pagan  country.  He  recommends  the  purchase  of  a 
small  ship  for  the  permanent  accommodation  of  the  com- 
mission in  its  present  position  beyond  the  reach  of  Chi- 
nese officials,  and,  as  there  was  little  hope  of  establishing 
a  proper  understanding  with  the  native  government,  ex- 
cept by  a  resort  to  force,  suggests  the  occupation  of  an 
*T)aviF-  "China  mid  the  Chinese,"  vol.  i,  p.  122. 


60  THi:    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

island  off  the  mouth  of  the  river.  He  refers  to  the  illicit 
traffic,  but  thinks  "  smuggling  carried  on  actively  in  the 
government  boats  can  hardly  be  termed  such,"  and  pro- 
ceeds to  explain  that  "  whenever  His  Majesty's  govern- 
ment directs  us  to  prevent  British  vessels  engaging  in 
the  traffic  we  can  enforce  any  order  to  that  effect,  but  a 
more  certain  method  would  be  to  prohibit  the  growth  of 
the  poppy  and  the  manufacture  of  opium  in  British  In- 
dia." 

The  Emperor  had  issued  the  first  edict  against  opium 
in  1800,  and  there  was  not  the  least  evidence  to  show 
that  the  court  of  Peking  was  not  sincere  in  the  attempt 
to  suppress  the  growing  evil.  The  cupidity  and  venality 
of  certain  provincial  and  marine  officers  on  the  coast 
could  not  be  more  justly  quoted  against  the  supreme 
government  than  could  the  successful  bribery  of  custom- 
house officers  in  England  be  adduced  as  proof  of  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  treasury  department.  It  would  not  be 
strange  if  the  temptation  of  an  increasing  and  lucrative 
trade  should  prove  quite  as  powerful  to  the  unenlight- 
ened native  smuggler  as  to  the  English  merchants  and 
monopolists  who  placed  the  poisonous  drug  constantly 
within  his  reach.  In  consequence  of  a  memorial  from 
one  of  the  court  ministers  to  the  Dragon  Throne,  favor- 
ing, for  various  political  reasons,  the  legalization  of  the 
opium  trade,  the  impression  became  general  at  Canton 
that  this  would  be  done,  and  increased  preparations  were 
accordingly  made  in  India  to  extend  the  cultivation  of  the 
poppy.  A  counter-memorial,  however,  was  presented  to 
the  Emperor,  which  urged  that  the  laws  be  more  strictly 
maintained  ;  that  the  people  would  soon  learn  to  despise 
all  laws  if  those  against  opium-smoking  were  suspended; 


ORIGIN    OF   THE    OPIUM    WAR.  81 

that  recreant  officers  should  be  superseded  and  punished; 
and  urging,  with  great  force  of  logic  and  eloquence,  that 
the  question  did  not  so  much  concern  property  and  cus- 
toms duties  as  the  welfare  and  vigor  of  the  people,  as  its 
cultivation  would  occupy  rich  and  fertile  land  now  used 
for  nutritive  grains,  and  showing  that  "  to  draw  off  in 
this  way  the  waters  of  the  great  fountain  requisite  for 
the  production  of  food  and  raiment,  and  to  lavish  them 
upon  the  root  whence  calamity  and  disaster  spring  forth, 
is  an  error  like  that  of  the  physician  who,  when  treating 
a  mere  external  disease,  drives  it  inward  to  the  heart 
and  center  of  the  body."  Another  memorial  from  one  of 
the  sub-censors  mentioned  the  names  of  several  foreigners, 
English,  Parsees  and  Americans,  residing  at  Canton,  who 
were  extensively  engaged  in  smuggling;  and  in  three 
edicts  issued  by  the  governor  of  Kwang-tung  province 
the  immediate  departure  of  nine  persons  therein  men- 
tioned was  required,  but  this  command  of  the  local  gov- 
ernment was  totally  disregarded. 

In  this  posture  of  affairs,  be  it  said  to  his  credit,  the 
superintendent,  Captain  Charles  Elliot,  manifested  a  strong, 
although  vain,  desire  to  see  the  many  political  and  com- 
mercial evils  growing  out  of  smuggling  done  away.  Dur- 
ing the  years  1837  and  1838  there  was  a  constant  strug- 
gle along  the  coast  between  the  officers  of  government, 
the  native  smugglers,  and  the  foreign  dealers  ;  although 
the  latter  generally  avoided  coming  in  collision  with  cither 
of  the  other  parties,  while  at  the  same  time  doing  all 
they  could  to  promote  the  sale.  Captain  Elliot,  being 
now  at  Canton  as  the  recognized  head  of  British  trade, 
received  an  order  from  the  provincial  authorities  to  drive 
away   the    receiving-ships    from    Lintin,  and    to    send    the 


82  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

Emperor's  command  to  his  king  that  henceforth  they  be 
prohibited  from  coming.  The  rapid  growth  at  the  port 
of  smuggling  in  small  boats,  and  the  numerous  collisions 
occurring  which  seemed  to  hazard  even  legitimate  com- 
merce, induced  him  to  transmit  also  to  his  sovereign  a 
minute  account  of  the  condition  of  the  opium  trade. 
Lord  Palmerston,  in  reply,  stated  that  no  protection  could 
be  afforded  to  "enable  British  subjects  to  violate  the  laws 
of  the  country  with  which  they  trade.  Any  loss,  there- 
fore, which  such  persons  may  suffer  in  consequence  of  the 
more  effectual  execution  of  the  Chinese  laws  on  this  sub- 
ject must  be  borne  by  the  parties  who  have  brought  that 
loss  on  themselves  by  their  own  acts."  And  yet  the 
English  Foreign  Office  had  been  familiar  for  years  with 
the  inception  and  growth  of  the  opium  trade! 

After  much  pains  to  take  the  sense  of  the-  empire,  and 
having  proceeded  with  the  utmost  deliberation,  the  Peking 
government  indicated  a  determined  purpose  to  suppress 
the  contraband  traffic.  The  number  of  foreign  small 
craft  under  English  and  American  flags  plying  up  and 
down  Canton  river,  in  1838,  was  over  fifty,  most  of  them 
engaged  in  smucfcflincr  In  some  instances  these  were 
readily  seized  and  destroyed;  but  when  the  foreign  schoon- 
ers, heavily  armed  and  manned,  sailed  up  the  stream  de- 
livering the  drug,  the  revenue  cruisers  declined  to  attack 
them.  Collisions  became  more  and  more  frequent  be- 
tween Chinese  dealers  and  the  authorities  in  consequence 
of  the  increased  stringency  of  the  orders  from  Peking, 
and  the  whole  question  was  finally  brought  to  an  issue 
by  the  open  transference  of  two  boxes  of  opium  by  order 
of  a  British  merchant  from  an  American  ship  to  the 
shore.     The  governor,  resolved  to  show  the  foreigner  what 


ORIGIN"    OF   THE    OPIUM    WAR.  83 

consequences  befell  natives  who  were  condemned  for  smug- 
gling, sent  an  officer  with  a  party  of  fifteen  to  execute  a 
convicted  dealer  in  front  of  the  factories.  The  officer  was 
making  preparations  to  carry  his  orders  into  effect,  near 
the  American  flag-staff,  when  a  body  of  foreigners  sallied 
out,  arrested  the  proceedings  in  the  most  violent  manner, 
and  in  loud  and  angry  tones  ordered  him  not  to  execute 
the  man  there.  A  large  number  of  natives  soon  gathered 
to  witness  the  scene,  whom  the  excited  foreigners  attempted 
to  drive  away;  whereupon  blows  were  exchanged,  and  the 
crowd  of  curious  observers,  now  changed  to  a  mob,  put 
to  flight  the  handful  of  their  assailants  and  began  to  at- 
tack the  foreign  houses  with  stones  and  brickbats.  The 
district  magistrate  appeared  upon  the  scene  with  a  small 
body  of  police  and  speedily  quelled  the  storm.  The  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  remonstrated  to  the  governor  against  the 
square  being  used  for  any  such  public  purpose  as  had 
been  attempted;  but  that  functionary  announced  his  in- 
tention to  execute  all  criminals  convicted  of  smuggling 
opium  in  that  very  place,  and  asserted  the  same  control 
over  it  as  any  other  locality  in  the  province.  Captain 
Elliot,  fully  appreciating  the  fact  that  his  countrymen 
stood  before  the  empire  as  violators  of  the  law,  declared 
his  intention  of  ordering  all  British-owned  vessels  to  leave 
the  river  within  three  days.  Little  heed,  however,  was 
paid  to  his  injunctions  and  entreaties;  and,  having  failed 
in  the  attempt  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  the  governor 
in  driving  out  all  obnoxious  vessels,  he  had  to  content 
himself  with  issuing  a  public  notice  expressive  of  his  pur- 
pose to  shrink  from  no  responsibility  whenever  the  oppor- 
tunity should  occur  of  expelling  ;i  traffic  which  was  rap- 
idly   staining    the    British    character    with    deep    disgrace 


84  TIIK    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

and  exposing  the  regular  commerce  to  imminent  jeopard)'. 
Without  proper  support  from  home,  and  deprived  of  the 
sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  merchants,  this  honora- 
ble officer  was  wholly  unable  to  put  forth  such  action  as 
would  show  the  Chinese  government  that  British  power 
would  not  protect  British  subjects  in  violating  the  law  of 
the  land. 

The  imperial  court  was  now  fully  resolved  upon  the 
policy  to  be  pui-sued,  having  presented  to  the  world  the 
unprecedented  example  of  a  despotic  pagan  government 
taking  the  public  sentiment  of  its  own  people  before 
adopting  a  doubtful  line  of  conduct.  The  minister  who 
had  proposed  legalization  was  dismissed  from  office,  three 
princes  of  the  blood  were  degraded  for  using  opium,  and 
the  arrests,  fines,  tortures,  imprisonments,  and  executions 
for  similar  offenses  in  the  various  provinces,  showed  a 
determined  purpose  to  abolish  the  traffic.  The  Chinese 
commissioner,  Lin,  who  was  invested  with  the  largest 
powers  ever  conferred  on  a  subject,  arrived  in  Canton 
March  10,  1839.  Nothing  was  publicly  heard  from  him 
for  some  time,  but  it  became  known  that  he  was  bus}r 
making  incpiiries,  and  both  natives  and  foreigners  anx- 
iously watched  his  movements.  On  the  18th  the  commis- 
sioner issued  his  first  proclamation,  which  gave  no  uncer- 
tain sound.  The  hong-merchants  were  duly  admonished 
and  instructed,  and  the  foreigners  were  required  to  de- 
liver up  every  particle  of  opium  in  the  store-ships,  and 
to  give  bonds  that  they  would  bring  no  more,  on  penalty 
of  death.  Three  days  were  allowed  for  compliance  with 
these  orders.  A  number  of  British,  Parsee  and  American 
dealers,  fully  alive  to  the  peril  of  the  situation,  subscribed 
1,037  chests  to  be  tendered  to  the  commissioner,  but  the 


ORIGIN    OF   THE    OPIUM    WAR.  85 

hong-merchants  declared  the  amount  to  be  insufficient.  A 
request  from  Lin  that  Mr.  Dent,  one  of  the  leading  English 
merchants,  should  meet  him  at  the  city  gate  having  been 
refused,  two  of  the  hong-merchants  came  to  his  house  with 
chains  upon  their  necks  and  bringing  an  express  order 
for  that  gentleman  to  appear.  Mr.  Dent  did  not  obey, 
fearing  that  the  intention  was  to  detain  him  as  a  hostage 
until  the  opium  should  be  surrendered, —  a  fear  appar- 
ently well-grounded  because  of  his  prominence  as  a  mer- 
chant, and  from  the  fact  that  he  alone  remained  of  the 
thirteen  foreigners  previously  ordered  out  of  the  country. 
After  some  fruitless  controversy  between  Captain  Elliot 
and  the  native  authorities,  the  servants  were  ordered  to 
abandon  their  foreign  masters,  guards  were  stationed  be- 
fore the  doors  of  each  of  the  factories  and  on  the  roofs 
of  the  adjoining  houses,  and  every  precaution  taken  to 
place  the  whole  community  in  duress.  Every  proposition 
on  the  part  of  the  merchants  or  the  superintendent  look- 
ing to  a  compromise  was  promptly  rejected  or  simply  ig- 
nored by  the  commissioner,  whose  every  movement  ex- 
hibited the  utmost  vigor  and  determination.  On  the  27th 
of  March,  yielding  to  the  pressure  of  events,  Captain  El- 
liot issued  a  circular  in  which,  after  representing  himself, 
together  with  all  the  merchants  of  his  own  and  the  other 
foreign  nations  settled  at  the  port,  as  forcibly  detained  by 
the  pi-ovincial  government,  without  supplies  of  food,  de- 
prived of  their  servants,  and  cut  off  from  all  intercourse 
with  their  respective  countries,  he  put  forth  his  order  in 
the  following  terms:  "Now,  I,  the  said  chief  superintend- 
ent, thus  constrained  by  paramount  motives  affecting  the 
safety  of  the  lives  and  liberty  of  all  the  foreigners  here 
present  in   Canton,  and  by  other  very  weighty  causes,  do 


86  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

hereby,  in  the  name  and  on  the  behalf  of  Her  Britannic 
Majesty's  government,  enjoin  and  require  all  Her  Majesty's 
subjects  now  present  in  Canton,  forthwith  to  make  a 
surrender  to  me  for  the  service  of  Her  said  Majesty's 
government,  to  be  delivered  over  to  the  government  of 
China,  of  all  the  opium  under  their  respective  control, 
and  to  hold  the  British  ships  and  vessels  engaged  in  the 
opium  trade  subject  to  my  immediate  direction,  and  to 
forward  me  without  delay  a  sealed  list  of  all  the  British- 
owned  opium  in  their  respective  possession."  Some  guar- 
antee being  offered  in  this  notice  by  the  authorized  agent 
of  the  Crown  that  all  questions  of  ownership  in  the  prop- 
erty thus  surrendered  would  be  considered  and  defined 
by  Her  Majesty's  government,  the  requisition  was  promptly 
answered  by  the  merchants,  -who,  before  night,  surren- 
dered into  Captain  Elliot's  hands  20,283  chests  of  opium, 
which  were  duly  tendered  to  the  commissioner  on  the  next 
day.  The  latter  referred  to  Peking  for  orders  concerning 
the  disposition  of  the  opium,  and  was  commanded  by  the 
Emperor  to  destroy  the  whole  in  the  presence  of  the  civil 
and  military  officers,  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast,  and  the 
foreigners,  "  that  they  may  know  and  tremble  thereat." 
The  destruction  was  effected  in  the  most  thorough  man- 
ner, by  mixing  it  with  lime  and  salt  water  in  trenches, 
and  then  drawing  off  the  mixture  into  an  adjacent  creek 
at  low  tide.  Every  precaution  was  taken  to  prevent  any 
purloining  of  the  precious  drug,  and  one  man  was  sum- 
marily executed  for  attempting  to  carry  away  a  small 
quantity.  Thus  perished  an  amount  of  property  rated  at 
the  cost  price  of  nearly  eleven  million  dollars. 

A  strange  mixture  of  traffic  and  hostilities  character- 
ized  the   course   of  events   during  the  remainder   of  the 


ORIGIN    OF   THE    OPIUM    WAR.  87 

year  1839,  until  late  in  the  season,  when  an  engagement 
was  precipitated  near  Macao  between  a  Chinese  fleet  and 
two  English  ships  of  war,  in  which  three  junks  were  sunk, 
one  blown  up,  and  the  remaining  twelve  put  to  flight. 
The  commissioner  finding  it  impossible  to  resume  com- 
mercial relations  without  more  or  less  complicity  in  the 
forbidden  traffic,  which  was  largely  controlled  from  the 
Portuguese  settlement  and  from  the  coasting  vessels  out- 
side, declared  the  trade  with  Great  Britain  at  an  end 
after  December  6,  and  forbade  English  goods  to  be  im- 
ported in  vessels  under  any  other  national  flag. 

The  British  government  was  bound  to  reimburse  its 
own  subjects  for  the  loss  they  had  sustained  in  the  de- 
struction of  their  property,  but  the  only  source  of  indem- 
nity Captain  Elliot  could  suggest  was  to  make  the  Chinese 
pay  for  it.  A  demand  of  that  nature  and  magnitude  could 
not  be  enforced  by  the  arts  of  diplomacy.  An  appeal  to 
arms  was  inevitable.  The  formality  of  a  declaration  of 
war  being  dispensed  with,  Queen  Victoria  issued  an  order 
in  council  to  the  admiralty  in  which  it  was  recited  that 
"  satisfaction  and  reparation  for  the  late  injurious  pro- 
ceedings of  certain  officers  of  the  Emperor  of  China  against 
certain  of  our  officers  and  subjects  shall  be  demanded 
from  the  Chinese  government."  The  opening  act  of  the 
drama,  however,  was  not  to  occur  until  China  had  first 
extended  to  England  the  olive-branch,  in  the  form  of  two 
official  letters  from  Commissioner  Lin  desiring  the  Queen's 
assistance  in  putting  down  the  opium  trade,  and  in  his 
sending  to  their  countrymen,  after  kind  and  hospitable 
treatment,  the  surviving  crew  of  the  Sunda,  an  English 
vessel  that  had  been  wrecked  on  the  Chinese  coast.* 

*  See,  for  principal  data,  Williams'  "Middle  Kingdom,"  vol.  ii,  pp.  470,  472. 
479,  493,  515,  516. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  WAR  AND   ITS  RESULTS. 

T~N  the  month  of  April,  1840,  Captain  Elliot  received  an 
-*-  official  letter  announcing  the  determination  of  the 
British  government  to  appeal  to  arms  in  case  the  Em- 
peror refused  to  settle  existing  difficulties  without  blood- 
shed. The  Chinese  apparently  foresaw  the  coming  strug- 
gle, and  began  to  collect  troops,  repair  their  forts,  and 
put  in  commission  vessels  to  guard  the  coast.  The  ad- 
vance of  the  English  forces  arrived  off  Macao  early  in 
the  summer  of  the  following  year,  under  Commodore  Sir 
Gordon  Bremer,  who  soon  published  a  notice  of  the  block- 
ade of  the  port  of  Canton.  Moving  northward  with  a 
fleet  of  twenty-nine  ships,  he  anchoi*ed  in  the  harbor  of 
Ting-hai,  and  sent  a  summons  to  surrender  the  town  and 
island.  The  Chinese  officers  in  command  of  the  place 
complained  of  the  hardship  of  being  made  the  victims  of 
deadly  attack  by  a  strange  foe  whom  they  had  never  seen 
and  had  never  wronged,  confessed  their  inability  to  cope 
with  such  a  force,  but  assured  Sir  Gordon  of  their  deter- 
mination to  put  forth  a  loyal  defense.  The  peaceful 
dawn  of  the  Sabbath,  July  5,  witnessed  a  portentous  war- 
cloud  looming  in  the  sky  and  over  the  devoted  town,  as 
all  the  vessels  discharged  their  broadsides,  hurling  deadly 
missiles  into  the  junks,  into  the  tower,  and  through  the 
lines  of  defense.  Among  the  Chinese  there  was  slaughter 
and   dismay  ;    with  the  English,  an  easy  victory  and  no 


THE    WAR    AtfD    ITS    RESULTS.  89 

loss.  The  blockade  of  Ningpo,  Amoy,  and  the  mouths  of 
the  Min  and  Yang-tsz-Kiang  rivers,  having  been  secured, 
Admiral  G.  Elliot  and  Captain  Elliot,  joint  plenipotentia- 
ries, sailed  for  the  Gulf  of  Pe-che-le,  where  they  anchored 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Pei-ho.  Negotiations  were  had 
with  Ki-shen,  governor  of  Chih-li  province,  resulting  in 
an  agreement  that  His  Excellency,  by  imperial  permis- 
sion, should  meet  the  plenipotentiaries  at  Canton  to  treat 
definitely  on  all  the  points  in  dispute. 

Meanwhile  a  few  skirmishes  had  taken  place  elsewhere, 
and  several  prisoners  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
Chinese.  These  unfortunate  persons  were  not  treated 
with  unusual  cruelty,  and  they  suffered  no  peculiar  hard- 
ship more  than  common  prisoners,  although  one  English- 
man, a  Mr.  Stanton,  who  was  held  in  captivity  in  Canton, 
came  near  meeting  a  horrible  fate.  The  redoubtable  Lin 
had  it  in  mind  at  one  time  to  immolate  him  to  the  god 
of  war  to  insure  the  success  of  the  imperial  troops;  but, 
learning  that  his  prisoner  had  never  been  engaged  in  the 
opium  trade,  he  relinquished  that  purpose. 

The  commissioner,  although  feared  by  foreigners  and 
held  in  respect  and  awe  among  his  countrymen,  was  made 
to  realize  the  vanity  of  all  trust  in  princes;  for,  in  the 
midst  of  his  active  and  important  measures  for  the  defense 
of  the  city  and  its  approaches,  he  was  suddenly  ordered  to 
return  "  with  the  speed  of  flames"  to  Peking,  the  Emperor 
signifying  his  great  displeasure  toward  his  servant  for 
having  failed  to  accomplish  the  object  sought  in  investing 
him  with  extraordinary  powers,  i.e.,  the  extermination  of 
the  odious  traffic  in  opium  among  both  foreign  and  native 
dealers. 

Admiral  Elliot,  on  account  of  ill   health,  resigned   his 


90  THE    FOREIGNER    IN   CHINA. 

office  soon  after  liis  return  from  the  north,  leaving  the 
management  of  affairs  to  Captain  Elliot.  Ki-shen  favored 
terms  of  accommodation,  but  found  unexpected  zeal  for 
war  among  the  natives,  and  a  determination  to  resist 
rather  than  to  grant  full  indemnity.  All  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  a  peaceful  adjustment  were  being  overcome 
at  Canton,  when  word  arrived  from  Peking  that  the  Em- 
peror had  determined  to  reject  all  demands.  Hostilities 
being  resumed,  the  Bogue  forts  were  speedily  taken  by 
nine  ships  of  war  assisted  by  about  five  hundred  troops 
and  two  steamers.  The  obstructions  in  the  Canton  river 
and  the  fortifications  along  the  shore  did  not  long  detain 
the  English  fleet,  and  troops  were  stationed  about  the  city 
prepared  to  cooperate  with  the  ships  in  a  general  as- 
sault. But  through  the  efforts  of  Captain  Elliot  a  truce 
was  obtained,  and  the  authorities  ransomed  their  city  for 
the  sum  of  six  million  dollars,  besides  agreeing  to  com- 
pensate for  the  destruction  of  certain  foreign  property  to 
a  very  considerable  amount.  For  some  days  mob  vio- 
lence prevailed  inside  the  walls,  and  it  is  stated  that  more 
than  a  thousand  persons  were  killed  in  the  rancorous 
contest  between  lawless  soldiers  and  the  citizens.  On  the 
outskirts,  the  dispersed  troops  aroused  the  villagers  to 
unite  in  driving  off  the  invaders,  until  a  tumultuous  force 
of  about  fifteen  thousand  advanced  upon  the  surprised 
English,  but  were  easily  put  to  flight.  The  next  day 
they  approached  in  still  more  menacing  attitude,  were 
again  dispersed,  and  finally  induced  to  retire  under  a 
threat  to  fire  on  the  city,  and  also  through  the  pei*sua- 
sions  of  one  of  the  commissioners  and  the  prefect.  The 
British  flag  was  hauled  down  from  the  forts,  and  the 
troops  took  their  departure  with  considerable  loss  in  killed 


THE    WAR   AND    ITS    RESULTS.  91 

and  wounded  and  from  sickness,  but  having  inflicted  far 
greater  damage  upon  their  enemies.  A  thoughtful  Ameri- 
can who  has  lived  in  Canton,  and  who  made  himself 
familiar  with  the  incidents  of  this  campaign,  says  that 
"  in  posting  their  forces,  and  placing  their  masked  bat- 
teries, and  equipping  their  troops  and  forts,  the  Chinese 
showed  greater  command  of  means  and  knowledge  of  war 
than  it  was  supposed  they  possessed;  but  their  lack  of  dis- 
cipline and  confidence  rendered  every  defense  unavailing." 
Soon  after  these  events  a  new  plenipotentiary,  Sir 
Henry  Pottinger,  with  Admiral  Sir  William  Parker,  ar- 
rived direct  from  England  to  assume  control  of  affairs. 
Under  the  joint  command  of  the  Admiral  and  Sir  Hugh 
Gough,  a  strong  expedition  sailed  northward.  Amoy, 
Chin-hai,  and  Ningpo,  in  rapid  succession,  were  taken  and 
occupied.  The  Chinese,  however,  made  a  strong  effort  to 
recapture  the  last-named  city,  and  opened  the  campaign 
by  a  well  concerted^  night  attack  from  a  body  of  troops 
who  during  the  day  had  entered  the  place  in  citizens' 
clothes;  but  their  temporary  success  in  capturing  the  west- 
ern and  southern  gates  suffered  a  most  disastrous  reverse 
under  a  resolute  charge  from  the  Europeans.  Cha-pu,  a 
strongly  fortified  city,  was  the  next  to  fall;  and  here  the 
Manchoo  Tartars  for  the  first  time  came  in  conflict  with 
the  English.  Either  through  fear  of  indiscriminate  slaugh- 
ter, or  else  unable  to  survive  the  disgrace  of  defeat,  these 
valiant  defenders  of  the  Dragon  Throne  perpetrated  self- 
destruction  in  large  numbers,  first  having  immolated 
their  wives  and  children.  The  expedition  then  proceeded 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Yang-tsz-Kiang,  where  the  fortifica- 
tions were  carried  after  a  severe  cannonading,  the  Chinese 
working  their  guns  in  reply  to  the  English  fire  with  more 


92  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

skill  and  effect  than  they  had  theretofore  displayed.  The 
governor-general,  Niu-kien,  who  was  posted  in  the  rear  of 
the  batteries  during  the  heat  of  the  engagement,  did  not 
present  a  very  inspiriting  example  to  his  troops,  but  quite 
made  up  for  his  lack  of  prowess  in  the  field  by  the  tenor 
of  his  dispatch  in  which  he  reported  the  defeat  of  the 
native  forces,  stating  that  he  braved  the  hottest  of  the 
fight,  "  where  cannon-balls  innumerable,  flying  in  awful 
confusion  through  the  expanse  of  heaven,  fell  before,  be- 
hind, and  on  either  side,  while  in  the  distance  he  saw  the 
ships  of  the  rebels  standing  erect,  lofty  as  mountains.  The 
fierce  daring  of  the  rebels  was  inconceivable;  officers  and 
men  fell  at  their  posts.  Every  effort  to  resist  and  check 
the  onset  was  in  vain,  and  a  retreat  became  inevitable." 
General  Chin,  who  was  in  immediate  command,  displayed 
the  greatest  heroism,  until,  covered  with  wounds,  he  fell 
on  the  walls  of  the  fort,  bowing  his  head  as  he  sank  in 
death  in  the  direction  of  the  Emperor's  palace.  Shanghai 
was  taken  without  further  resistance  and  the  city  saved 
from  pillage,  although  a  ransom  of  three  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  was  exacted. 

The  English  were  now  fully  resolved  upon  the  cap- 
ture of  Nanking,  the  ancient  capital  of  China.  The  ex- 
pedition, having  been  reorganized  and  fully  equipped,  when 
sailing  up  the  great  river,  struck  the  inhabitants  along 
the  shore  with  mingled  astonishment  and  dread  as  they 
observed  these  leviathans  from  the  western  seas  moving 
along  indifferently  with  or  against  wind  and  tide,  impelled 
by  a  mysterious  and  unseen  force.  Seventy-two  steamers 
and  transports  of  various  kinds  composed  the  fleet,  and 
they  were  arranged  in  five  divisions,  with  an  advance 
squadron  of  five   small   steamers   and   tenders   to   survey 


THE    WAR    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  93 

the  stream,  each  division  having  a  frigate  or  seventy-four 
at  its  head.  Although  it  would  not  have  been  considered 
a  very  formidable  display  in  European  waters,  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  ships  as  compared  with  the  native  river 
junks,  their  heavy  armaments,  the  superiority  of  all  the 
weapons  of  war,  and  the  moral  energy  and  thorough  dis- 
cipline of  the  troops,  constituted  an  invading  force  which 
must  be  regarded  as  invincible  against  all  possible  re- 
sources of  the  semi-civilized  empire  whose  pride  and 
power  it  was  now  the  purpose  to  humble. 

In  order  to  open  a  safe  approach  to  Nanking,  it  was 
deemed  necessary  to  occupy  Chin-kiang-fu,  or  the  "  Mart- 
river  city."  To  effect  this,  the  general  disembarked  his 
little  army  and  formed  a  land  force  of  three  divisions, 
the  whole  comprising  seven  thousand  men,  with  an  artil- 
lery brigade  of  five  hundred  and  seventy  rank  and  file. 
Captain  Loch,  who  accompanied  the  general  as  an  aid, 
tells  us  that  while  a  party  of  volunteers  were  approach- 
ing the  imperialist  camp  outside  the  city  walls,  and  as 
they  passed  through  a  small  hamlet  on  the  hills,  they  ob- 
served "  the  village  had  not  been  deserted  ;  some  of  the 
houses  were  closed,  while  the  inhabitants  of  others  wei-e 
standing  in  the  streets  staring  at  us  in  stupid  wonder; 
and  although  they  were  viewing  a  contest  between  for- 
eigners and  their  fellow  countrymen,  and  in  danger  them- 
selves of  being  shot,  were  coolly  eating  their  meals"; — all 
of  which  is  an  illustration  of  the  sang-froid  sometimes 
exhibited  by  Chinamen  in  the  midst  of  imminent  peril,  in 
striking  contrast  to  their  not  infrequent  display  of  oppo- 
site qualities,  presenting  a  psychological  problem  which 
we  do  not  venture  to  solve.  The  right  center  and  left 
brigades   made   a  successful    assault   upon    the   city.      The 


94  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

walls  to  the  north  were  escaladed,  and  the  western  gate 
was  blown  in;  but  seven  boats  carrying  artillerymen,  which 
had  proceeded  up  the  Grand  Canal  to  the  gate,  were  re- 
pulsed by  a  severe  fire  from  the  walls  with  a  loss  of  three 
of  their  number;  whereupon  two  hundred  marines  were 
landed,  who,  with  three  hundred  Sepoys,  succeeded  in  re- 
covering the  boats  and  carrying  the  wounded  men  on 
shipboard.  The  detachment  then  planted  their  ladders  in 
the  face  of  a  spirited  fire  from  the  enemy,  and  carried 
the  ramparts  against  all  opposition.  Although  three  gates 
had  been  captured,  the  place  was  far  from  being  subdued. 
The  Tartars,  driven  into  the  southern  part  of  the  city, 
bravely  held  out.  A  force  sent  along  the  ramparts  to 
occupy  the  southern  gate,  soon  encountered  a  body  of  eight 
hundred  or  a  thousand  men  drawn  up  in  an  open  space 
below,  who  commenced  to  fire  with  steadiness  and  regu- 
larity, but  gave  way  as  the  party  charged  down  the  bank 
upon  them.  The  dispersed  Tartars  kept  up  a  scattering  dis- 
charge of  musketry  along  the  streets  and  from  the  houses 
while  the  English  army  swept  the  city.  Two  regiments, 
as  they  marched  into  the  southern  quarter,  met  scenes  of 
desolation  and  woe  seldom  equaled  in  modern  warfare. 
Such  was  the  feeling  of  terror  and  hatred  toward  the- 
invaders  that  every  Manchoo  seemed  to  prefer  resistance, 
death,  suicide,  or  flight,  to  surrender.  The  doors  of  their 
houses  were  shut,  and.  through  the  crevices  men  could  be 
seen  deliberately  cutting  the  throats  of  their  women  and 
destroying  their  children  by  throwing  them  into  wells. 
In  one  residence,  no  less  than  fourteen  dead  bodies,  prin- 
cipally women,  were  discovered.  It  was  estimated  that 
out  of  a  Manchoo  Tartar  population  of  four  thousand  not 
more  than  five  hundred  survived,  the  greater  part  having 


THE    WAR   AND   ITS    RESULTS.  95 

perished  by  their  own  hands.  Captain  Loch  incidentally 
mentions  the  wanton  destruction  by  fire  of  a  large,  well 
furnished,  but  deserted  house,  supposed  to  be  the  prefect's 
residence.  The  public  offices  were  ransacked,  all  the  arms 
and  warlike  stores  destroyed,  but  only  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars in  s}rcee  were  found  in  the  treasury.  When  the  popu- 
lace began  to  pillage  the  city  and  suburbs,  in  one  in- 
stance setting  fire  to  the  buildings  at  each  end  of  a  street 
in  order  to  plunder  a  pawnbroker's  shop  without  inter- 
ference, the  confusion  became  appalling.  The  Sepoys  and 
camp-followers  not  only  took  their  share  of  plunder,  but 
parties  were  stationed  at  the  gates  to  relieve  the  robbers 
of  their  rich  booty  as  they  attempted  to  pass  out.  With- 
in twenty-four  hours  after  the  landing  of  the  troops,  the 
city  and  suburbs  of  Chin-kiang-fu  were  laid  in  complete 
ruins,  and  part  of  the  eastern  wall  was  subsequently  blown 
up,  and  all  the  gates  dismantled,  in  order  to  prevent  any 
further  resistance  from  that  quarter  on  the  part  of  the 
determined  and  courageous  Tartars. 

Some  of  the  large  ships  were  towed  still  further  up 
the  river  toward  Nanking,  and  the  whole  fleet  in  due 
time  reached  that  city.  In  order  to  avoid  a  repetition  of 
the  dreadful  scenes  enacted  at  Chin-kiang-fu,  the  leaders 
of  the  expedition  sent  a  communication  to  Niu-kien,  the 
governor-general,  stating  that  they  were  willing  to  ransom 
the  city  for  three  million  dollars.  Seeing  that  prepara- 
tions had  been  made  for  a  formidable  assault,  and  that  the 
distress  ensuent  upon  the  blockade  was  hourly  becoming 
greater  and  greater,  more  than  seven  hundred  vessels  hav- 
ing been  stopped  at  Chin-kiang  coming  from  the  south,  be- 
sides a  large  fleet  detained  in  the  northern  branch  of  the 
canal,  the   native  authorities   yielded    to   the  demands  of 


96  I'HE   FOREIGNEB    IN    CHINA. 

the  situation  and  consented  to  enter  into  stipulations.     A 
time   and    place  was  appointed    to  arrange   preliminaries, 
and  the  delegates   on   the    part  of   the  imperial    commis- 
sioners,  and   Major    Malcom  with    Mr.    Morrison    for   the 
plenipotentiary,  met  to  settle  the  vexed  question  of  cre- 
dentials.     The   English    suspicion    was    disarmed    by   the 
solemn  manner  in  which  the    Emperor's  commission  was 
brought   forth   and    presented,  and    their   amusement   ex- 
cited at  the  dismay  of  the  attendants  at  seeing  the  for- 
eigners irreverently  handle  it  and  examine  its  authenticity 
with  so  little  awe.     The  skeleton  of  a  treaty  was  immedi- 
ately drafted  for  the  delegates  to  take  to  their  superiors. 
After   an   exchange   of  ceremonial  visits,  the   plenipoten- 
tiaries met  in  the  college  hall  of  the  city  to  discuss  and 
definitely  arrange  all  questions  at  issue.     The  room  was 
superbly   fitted   up,    and    a   crowd    of   official    attendants, 
dressed  in  elegant  robes,  graced  the  occasion.     Sir  Henry 
Pottinger  was  accorded  the  seat  of  honor,  between  Ki-ying 
and   Ilipu,  the  commissioners.     The   formalities  of  recep- 
tion and  a  sumptuous  dinner  in  Chinese  style  being  over, 
the  business  of   the   hour  engaged   the   serious  attention 
of  those    high    functionaries.     A   treaty    was    at    length 
agreed   to.    embx*acing   the    following    articles   of   stipula- 
tion:    1.  Lasting     peace    between    the    two    empires;    2. 
The  Chinese  government  to  pay   twenty-one   million  dol- 
lars,—  twelve  million  being  for   the  expenses  of  the  war, 
three  million    for  debts  due    the   English   merchants,  and 
six    million    for    the    opium;    3.    The    ports    of    Canton, 
Amoy,  Foo-chow,  Ningpo,   and   Shanghai,    to    be   thrown 
open   to   British    trade   and    residence,    and   the   trade   to 
be    conducted   according    to   a   well    understood   tariff;  4. 
The   island  of   Hong-kong  to  be   ceded    to    the  Queen;  5. 


THE    WAR    AND   ITS    RESULTS.  97 

All  British  prisoners  to  be  unconditionally  released; 
6.  All  Chinese  in  the  service  of  the  English  to  be  par- 
doned and  held  guiltless;  7.  Correspondence  hereafter  to 
be  conducted  on  terms  of  perfect  equality;  8.  When  the 
treat}'  receives  the  Emperor's  assent,  and  six  million  dollars 
are  paid,  the  English  forces  shall  withdraw  from  the  river 
and  the  places  now  occupied,  but  Chu-san  and  Ku-lang-su 
to  be  occupied  until  all  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  are 
executed. 

After  these  matters  had  been  arranged,  Sir  Henry  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  say  a  few  words  upon  "  the  great  cause 
that  produced  the  disturbances  which  led  to  the  war,  namely, 
the  trade  in  opium."  The  mandarins  at  first  declined  en- 
tering upon  the  subject,  but  consented  at  once  when  as- 
sured that  it  should  be  treated  in  a  strictly  unofficial 
manner.  Captain  Loch  states  that  "they  then  evinced 
much  interest,  and  eagerly  recpuested  to  know  why  we 
would  not  act  fairly  toward  them  by  prohibiting  the 
growth  of  the  poppy  in  our  dominions,  and  thus  effectu- 
ally stop  a  traffic  so  pernicious  to  the  human  race."  The 
captain  thus  gives  in  substance  Sir  Henry's  rejuy,  which 
was  really  all  that  could  be  said  in  defense  of  his  govern- 
ment: "  This,  in  consistency  with  our  constitutional  laws, 
could  not  be  done,  and  he  added  that  even  if  England 
chose  to  exercise  so  arbitrary  a  power  over  her  tillers  of 
the  soil,  it  would  not  check  the  evil  so  far  as  the  Chinese 
were  concerned,  while  the  cancer  remained  unei-adicated 
among  themselves,  but  that  it  would  merely  throw  the 
market  into  other  hands.'1  This  method  of  reasoning  on 
the  part  of  His  Excellency  had  the  merit  of  being  ingeni- 
ous, and  also  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  being  addre  ed 
to  men  who  were  perhaps  incapable  of   making  any  very 


98  TH  E    FOR  ETO X  E R    T  N    CHINA. 

nice  distinction  in  questions  of  casuistry,  however  other- 
wise it  may  appear  to  the  enlightened  statesman  and  phi- 
lanthropist. 

Four  copies  of  the  treaty  were  prepared  in  both  lan- 
guages; and,  with  impressive  ceremonies,  it  received  the 
necessary  signatures  on  board  Her  Majesty's  ship  Com- 
wallis,  the  event  being  announced  to  the  fleet  and  army 
by  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns  and  hoisting  the  union- 
jack  and  a  yellow  flag  at  the  main  and  mizzen.  The  six 
millions  were  paid  with  but  little  delay;  and  upon  recep- 
tion of  the  Emperor's  ratification,  September  15,  1842, 
the  secretary  of  legation,  Major  Malcom,  immediately  left 
to  obtain  the  Queen's  ratification,  going  by  steam  the 
entire  distance  from  Nanking  to  London. 

A  large  number  of  the  officers  in  the  army  and  navy 
received  promotion,  or  honorary  titles, —  some  during  the 
progress  of  the  war  and  others  at  its  close.  Sir  Hugh 
was  first  created  a  baronet,  and,  after  more  service  in 
India,  elevated  to  the  peerage  with  the  title  of  Lord 
G-ough,  Baron  of  Chin-kiang-fu;  while  Sir  Henry  and  the 
admiral  obtained  each  the  high  distinction  of  Grand  Cross 
of  the  Bath.  The  three  interpreters,  Messrs.  Morrison, 
Thorn,  and  Gutzlaff,  whose  services  had  been  most  impor- 
tant whenever  communication  was  had  with  the  enemy, 
and  who  were  arduous  and  invaluable  in  arranging  the 
final  stipulations,  received  no  distinctive  mark  of  royal 
favor.  The  Emperor,  so  far  from  rewarding  any  of  his 
servants  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  struggle,  ex- 
pressed his  displeasure  at  the  conduct  of  those  who  had 
survived,  but  bestowed  posthumous  honoi-s  upon  those  who 
had  died  at  the  post  of  duty.  Although  many  civil  and 
military  officers  were  condemned  to  death,  but  one  of  their 


THE    WAR   AND    ITS    RESULTS.  99 

number  actually  lost  his  life, —  Governor  Yu,  of  Cheh- 
kiang,  who  fled  from  Ningpo  in  1841. 

The  ratifications  of  the  treaty  of  Nanking  were  ex- 
changed at  Hong-Kong,  ten  months  after  it  had  been 
signed  by  the  plenipotentiaries.  The  island  was  then  for- 
mally taken  possession  of  on  behalf  of  the  Queen,  and 
the  warrant  read  appointing  Sir  Henry  governor  of  the 
new  colony.  The  proclamation  by  the  English  and  Chi- 
nese authorities,  which  soon  followed,  giving  effect  to  cer- 
tain tariff  and  commercial  regulations,  has  been  justly 
chai-acterized  as  one  of  the  most  important  documents  ever 
issued  by  the  Chinese  government,  as  by  it  China  fully 
opened  her  ports  and  people  to  foreign  intercourse.  Com- 
missioner Ki-ying  thus  expressed  himself  in  this  remarka- 
ble state  paper  :  "  Henceforth,  then,  the  weapons  of  war 
shall  forever  be  laid  aside,  and  joy  and  profit  shall  be  the 
perpetual  lot  of  all;  neither  slight  nor  few  will  be  the 
advantages  reaped  by  the  merchants,  alike  of  China  and 
of  foreign  countries.  From  this  time  forward  all  must 
free  themselves  from  prejudice  and  suspicions,  pursuing 
each  his  proper  avocation,  and  oareful  always  to  retain  no 
inimical  feelings  from  the  recollection  of  the  hostilities 
that  have  before  taken  place;  for  such  feelings  and  recol- 
lections can  have  no  other  effect  than  to  hinder  the  growth 
of  a  good  understanding  between  the  two  peoples."  As 
further  evidence  of  the  conciliatory  attitude  and  pacific 
intentions  of  the  imperial  government,  it  may  be  stated 
that  all  the  natives  engaged  in  the  service  of  the  English 
during  the  war  were  liberated,  and  of  the  many  hundreds 
who  had  served  on  ship  and  ashore  against  their  country, 
none  were  molested  in  any  way  for  so  doing. 

A  supplementary  treaty  was  also  concluded,  which  made 


100  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

provision  for  the  settlement  of  debts,  for  treatment  of 
criminals,  for  the  restraint  of  British  subjects,  for  the 
registry  of  Chinese  vessels  at  Hong-Kong,  etc.  By  special 
request  of  Ki-ying,  an  article  was  admitted  extending 
to  all  foreigners  who  had  previously  traded  at  Canton 
the  same  privileges  English  subjects  were  to  enjoy  at 
the  various  open  ports. 

The  publication  to  the  world  of  the  treaty  of  Nanking 
caused  a  sensation  in  Europe  and  America.  Prussia,  Bel- 
gium, the  Netherlands,  and  Spain,  all  sent  out  their  rep- 
resentatives to  seek  some  advantage  in  the  new  adjust- 
ment of  commercial  relations.  The  gentlemen  so  com- 
missioned arrived  in  China  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
year  1843,  and  most  of  them  had  interviews  or  commu- 
nication with  Ki-ying  before  his  return  to  Peking  in 
December.  The  government  of  the  United  States  ap- 
pointed the  Honorable  Caleb  Cushing  embassador  to  the 
Chinese  court.  He  having  arrived  in  China  in  the  frigate 
Brandywine,  Commodore  Parker,  February  24,  1844,  took 
up  his  temporaiy  residence  at  Macao,  where  he  organized 
the  American  legation,  consisting  of  himself  as  sole  com- 
missioner and  envoy  extraordinary,  Fletcher  Webster,  Esq., 
as  secretary  to  the  special  Mission,  with  the  Rev.  E.  C. 
Bridgman,  D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Peter  Parker,  M.D.,  for 
joint  Chinese  secretaries,  and  Dr.  Bridgman  to  serve  as 
chaplain,  five  other  gentlemen  being  retained  in  subor- 
dinate positions.  When  Mr.  Cushing  announced  to  the 
lieutenant-governor  of  the  province  his  desire  to  convey 
to  Peking  a  letter  from  President  Tyler  to  His  Majesty, 
the  information  of  his  arrival  was  immediately  sent  to 
court,  whereupon  the  Emperor  reappointed  Ki-ying  com- 
missioner, with  higher  powers  than   before,  indicating   a 


THE   WAR   AND  ITS   RESULTS.  101 

favorable  disposition  toward  Americans.  After  the  usual 
visits  of  ceremony,  negotiations  were  entered  upon  and 
favorably  concluded  at  Wang-hia,  July  3,  1844,  when  the 
two  plenipotentiaries  signed  a  treaty  "  between  the  young- 
est and  oldest  empires  in  the  world,"  which  was  in  due 
time  ratified  by  the  Emperor  and  the  President  and  Sen- 
ate. All  the  important  advantages  accorded  to  the  En- 
glish were  included  in  this  treaty,  which  also  provided 
for  the  erection  of  hospitals,  chapels  and  cemeteries  at 
the  five  ports,  and  for  the  visits  of  ships-of-war  to  any 
part  of  the  coast.  Having  accomplished  the  main  object 
of  his  mission,  and  being  content  to  deliver  the  presiden- 
tial letter  into  the  hands  of  an  officer  of  rank,  Mr.  Cush- 
ing  embarked  for  the  United  States  without  seeing  the 
other  ports,  making  only  a  transient  visit  at  Canton  and 
Hong-Kong.  In  1845  the  French  embassador,  H.  E.  Th. 
de  Lagren6,  was  able  to  conclude  a  commercial  treaty  on 
the  basis  of  the  American  stipulations,  including  as  an  ad- 
ditional item  a  qualified  permission  for  the  reception  and 
exercise  of  Christianity  among  the  people  of  the  empire. 

The  cities  and  provinces  swept  by  the  storm  of  war  had 
suffered  much.  In  some  instances  the  authority  of  the 
officers  was  materially  weakened,  and  for  a  time  anarchy 
threatened  the  disruption  of  the  whole  civil  power  within 
those  limits.  The  destruction  of  property  was  enormous, 
considering  the  extent  of  territory  actually  traversed;  and 
the  sums  exacted  as  ransom  money,  with  the  amount  finally 
paid  in  obedience  to  the  demands  of  the  treaty,  greatly 
added  to  the  embarrassment  of  the  provincial  authorities, 
upon  whom  this  burden  principally  rested.  At  Canton  the 
anti-foreign  sentiment  became  intense,  and  the  hostility  of 
the  citizens  proceeded  to  such  a  length  that  the  local  gov- 


102  THE    FOREIGNER   IN    CHINA. 

eminent  became  utterly  powerless  to  secure  to  foreigners  a 
larger  space  for  residences  and  freedom  to  enter  the  city; 
and  as  a  result,  there  having  been  failure  to  carry  out  the 
stipulations  in  these  respects,  several  vessels  of  the  British 
navy  made  warlike  demonstrations  at  the  Bogue  and  up 
the  river,  thereby  restraining  the  mob  spirit  and  rein- 
forcing the  authorities.  Notwithstanding  these  unfavor- 
able conditions,  the  external  and  internal  relations  of  the 
Chinese  empire  at  the  close  of  the  year  1844  were  exceed- 
ingly hopeful.  The  magistrates  had  largely  resumed  their 
functions,  the  bands  of  lawless  desperadoes  were  gradually 
dispersing,  and  the  people  seemed  to  be  entering  upon  a 
new  career  of  peaceful  industry.  No  popular  ill-will  was 
manifested  at  Amoy  on  account  of  the  heavy  losses  its 
citizens  had  sustained,  nor  at  Ningpo  or  Shanghai  for  their 
occupation  by  English  troops,  and  the  British  consuls  at 
the  five  ports  had  all  been  received,  while  trade  was  com- 
mencing under  favoi'able  auspices.  The  one  dark  and 
ominous  feature  of  commerce  with  China,  however,  still 
remained, —  the  unlicensed  and  rapidly  extending  opium 
traffic,  carried  on  in  schooners  plying  up  and  down  the 
coast,  and  lying  outside  the  limits  of  every  port  to  deliver 
the  drug. 

One  important  result  of  the  war  was  a  breaking  down 
of  the  intolerable  assumptions  of  the  Peking  court,  and 
the  partial  demolition  of  those  ancient  barriers  of  igno- 
rance and  supex-stition  which,  in  every  age  and  among  every 
semi-civilized  people,  have  stood  in  the  way  of  international 
comity  and  universal  progress.  We  may  not  stay  our 
regrets  that  the  effect  of  kindness,  honorable  dealing  and 
peaceful  missions,  had  not  been  fairly  tried,  and  so  the 
opportunity  of  exemplifying  to  a  great  heathen  nation  the 


THE    WAR    AND    ITS    RESULTS.  103 

lofty  principles  of  justice  and  humanity  was  forever  lost; 
but  we  will  gratefully  accept  the  issue  which,  under  Divine 
Providence,  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  our  relations  with 
this  empire  of  the  Orient. 

Members  of  the  British  Parliament  expressed  their 
gratification  at  being  at  last  out  of  a  bad  business;  but, 
as  Dr.  Williams  has  observed,  "their  desire,  frequently 
uttered,  that  the  light  of  the  Gospel  and  the  blessings  of 
Christian  civilization  might  now  be  introduced  among  the 
millions  of  China,  seemed  very  like  a  kind  of  peace  offering 
of  good  wishes,  somewhat  in  the  manner  of  the  Hebrews 
offering  a  kid  when  they  had  committed  trespass." 


CHAPTER  VIT 

RENEWAL  OF  HOSTILITIES  — THE    NORTH   CHINA 
CAMPAIGN. 

rj^HE  right  of  entrance  into  the  walled  cities  at  the 
-*-  ports  opened  to  commerce  not  having  been  clearly 
expressed  in  any  of  the  treaties,  the  local  rulers  at  Can- 
ton were  eventually  disposed  to  resist  every  demand  look- 
ing to  a  consummation  so  much  desired  by  foreign  resi- 
dents, who  were  rigidly  confined  to  the  suburbs.  The 
rulers  were  strongly  supported  by  the  people,  whose  spirit 
of  opposition  and  prejudice  seldom  omitted  an  occasion  to 
manifest  itself.  In  1847  the  governor  of  Hong-Kong,  Sir 
John  F.  Davis,  under  directions  from  the  English  Foreign 
Office,  made  a  demand  upon  the  governor-general  to  open 
his  provincial  city  to  the  ingress  of  British  subjects,  as 
was  the  case  at  all  the  other  open  ports,  and  sought  to 
enforce  his  demand  by  the  occupation  of  several  forts 
along  Canton  river.  But  the  popular  excitement  became 
so  intense  that  Sir  John  abandoned  his  purpose  for  a 
stipulated  period  of  two  years,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
the  English  authorities  indefinitely  adjourned  the  whole 
question. 

In  October,  1856,  a  native  vessel  making  use  of  the 
British  flag,  without,  as  the  Chinese  asserted,  any  right  to 
do  so,  was  called  to  account  and  summarily  dealt  with. 
The  English  demanded  an  apology  for  Chinese  soldiers 
having  boarded  the  lorcha  oif  Canton,  but  Commissioner 

104 


RENEWAL   OF   HOSTILITIES.  105 

Yeh  refused  to  give  it,  at  the  same  time  making  so  much 
concession  as  to  send  the  crew  to  the  English  consulate 
to  he  examined.  In  consequence  of  this  refusal,  hostili- 
ties were  commenced.  The  British  bombarded  the  city- 
wall  opposite  the  governor-general's  palace,  into  which 
they  forced  an  entrance,  and  afterward  attacked  and  de- 
stroyed the  Barrier  Forts.  In  retaliation,  the  Chinese 
burned  the  foreign  residences,  and  gradually  compelled 
all  foreigners  to  withdraw  from  the  city  and  river.  These 
events  were  discussed  in  open  Parliament,  and  excited 
much  public  attention  in  England.  The  ministry  pro- 
posed war  with  China;  and,  on  an  adverse  vote  of  the 
Commons,  appealed  to  the  country  and  were  sustained  by 
the  new  House.  Her  Majesty's  government  thereupon 
resolved  to  demand  a  revision  of  the  first  treaty,  with  an 
apology  for  the  grievances  that  had  occurred  in  the 
south,  and  also  that  further  privileges  should  be  enjoyed, 
more  especially  that  the  English  minister  should  be  per- 
mitted to  reside  at  the  capital  and  come  into  direct  com- 
munication with  the  Chinese  supreme  authority. 

A  Roman  Catholic  missionary,  the  Rev.  M.  Chapdelaine, 
had  been  murdered  in  the  province  of  Kwang-si,  and  the 
circumstances  of  this  tragic  event  had  excited  the  indig- 
nation of  the  French  people.  There  were  various  other 
causes  of  complaint  on  the  part  of  France;  and  the  courts 
of  Paris  and  London  readily  agreed  on  an  armed  remon- 
strance with  the  Peking  government.  The  United  States 
and  Russia  declined  an  invitation  to  enter  the  alliance, 
but  consented  to  cooperate  in  all  purely  diplomatic  ad- 
vances. 

The  first  important  and  decisive  movement  resulted  in 
the  total  destruction  of  the  Chinese  fleet  and  the  capture 


106  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

of  Canton.  Commissioner  Yeh,  who  is  said  to  have  or- 
dered the  beheading  of  one  hundred  thousand  rebels  in 
the  course  of  his  official  career,  was  taken  prisoner  and 
sent  to  Calcutta,  where  he  soon  afterward  died.  A  Lon- 
don Times  correspondent  accompanied  the  distinguished 
captive  in  his  voyage,  and  regaled  the  British  public  with 
a  minute  account  of  his  personal  appearance,  habits,  con- 
versation, etc.,  in  a  series  of  well- written  letters.  The 
campaign  having  opened  auspiciously  for  the  allies,  Lord 
Elgin  and  Baron  Gross  demanded  that  imperial  commis- 
sioners should  be  sent  with  authority  to  conclude  a  new 
treaty,  Shanghai  being  designated  as  the  place  of  meet- 
ing. The  Chinese,  in  accordance  with  their  traditional 
policy  to  keep  foreigners  as  far  away  from  the  capital  as 
possible,  insisted  that  the  interview  should  be  held  in 
Canton.  The  English  and  French  representatives  deter- 
mined not  to  submit  to  this  requisition,  and  proceeded  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Pei-ho,  the  port  of  Peking,  where  they 
were  joined  by  Mr.  Reed  and  Admiral  Count  Putiatine, 
the  American  and  Russian  ministers,  the  united  squadrons 
numbering  nearly  forty  vessels.  The  governor-general  of 
Chih-li  came  down  to  open  negotiations,  and  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries of  the  United  States  and  Russia  had  nearly 
completed  the  revision  of  the  treaties,  when  a  rupture 
occurred  with  the  English  and  French,  who  regarded  the 
governor-general's  powers  as  inadequate,  and  who  sent 
word  to  the  Emperor  that  unless  an  officer  with  higher 
authority  jvas  sent  from  the  capital  they  would  bombard 
and  take  the  Ta-koo  forts.  This  threat  was  carried  into 
execution,  and  several  steamers  proceeded  up  the  river 
opposite  Tien-tsin.  The  unexpected  arrival  of  the  for- 
eign embassadors   in  that  city,  accompanied  by  an  armed 


KENEWAL    OF    HOSTILITIES.  107 

force,  occasioned  great  excitement  among  the  native  popu- 
lation, and  thoroughly  alarmed  the  government.  Two 
commissioners  of  high  rank  and  enlarged  powers  were 
dispatched  to  treat  with  Lord  Elgin  and  his  associates. 

The  negotiations  of  Tien-tsin  may  justly  be  regarded  as 
the  second  or  third  epochal  event  in  the  modern  history 
of  China.  The  four  leading  Western  powers  stood  face 
to  face  with  this  great  heathen  nation,  in  the"  persons  of 
their  able  representatives.  It  was  the  beginning  of  a 
new  order  of  influences  destined  to  extend  over  Eastern 
Asia,  and  to  affect  in  many  ways  the  most  venerable  of 
human  institutions.  An  article  allowing  the  profession 
of  Christianity  by  the  natives  of  China  was  introduced 
into  each  treaty,  although  the  code  of  the  empire  had  for 
many  years  made  the  acceptance  of  a  new  and  strange 
religion  a  capital  offense.  Various  points  were  discussed 
and  adopted  by  which  new  and  important  advantages  were 
secured  to  traders,  including  the  opening  up  for  foreign 
residence  and  purposes  of  commerce  two  new  ports  on  the 
island  of  Formosa,  with  the  cities  of  Swa-tau,  Che-foo, 
Tien-tsin,  one  city  in  Manchooria,  and  three  on  the  Yang- 
tsz-Kiang,  although  the  Chinese  with  all  their  subtle  art 
sought  to  avoid  concessions.  Lord  Elgin  exerted  a  lead- 
ing influence  in  the  various  conferences,  and  preserved  a 
very  determined  and  authoritative  bearing.  If  was  said 
that  "  a  mere  hint  of  proceeding  to  Peking  was  sufficienl 
to  take  the  most  doubtful  clauses  through  the  perils  of 
diplomacy."  The  Chinese  were  ill-prepared  to  delVm!  their 
capital,  while  the  English  were  armed,  aggressive,  and 
confident. 

The  two  imperial  commissioners  repaired  to  Shanghai 
\>y  the  overland  route,  where  iln\   met    tin'    foreign    minis- 


108  THE    FOKEIGNKK    IX    CHINA. 

ters,  the  result  being  a  thorough  revision  of  the  tariff 
and  commercial  relations.  All  that  now  remained  to  be 
done  in  perfecting  a  formal  peace  was  to  send  the  treaties 
to  Europe  and  America  to  be  duly  sanctioned,  after  which 
they  were  to  be  ratified  by  the  Emperor  at  Peking.  In 
the  month  of  June,  1859,  the  representatives  of  "  the  four 
treaty  powers  "  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pei-ho,  pur- 
suant to  the  understood  plan  for  the  exchange  of  the  rati- 
fications. The  passage  to  Tien-tsin  was  found  to  be  filled 
with  obstructions  to  prevent  the  entrance  of  the  gun-boats, 
and  it  was  discovered  that  extensive  warlike  preparations 
had  been  made  to  resist  and  exclude  the  foreign  embassa- 
dors. It  is  believed  that  the  Chinese  did  not  at  first  con- 
template breaking  faith  with  foreign  nations.  The  terms 
of  the  treaty,  which  were  really  the  result  of  a  coup  cle 
main,  and  which  had  been  exacted  with  a  dictatorial  air 
and  haughty  assumption  of  superiority,  involved  not  only 
much  larger  concessions  than  had  ever  been  given  to  any 
"  outside  kingdom,"  but  was  a  practical  surrender  of  that 
preeminence  which  from  time  immemorial  had  been 
claimed  and  exercised  over  the  surrounding  nations.  In 
order  to  maintain  the  prestige  and  authority  of  the  gov- 
ernment at  home,  it  probably  became  necessary  to  sub- 
mit with  at  least  apparent  good  grace  to  the  foreign 
demand;  but  it  was  simply  impossible  to  do  this  with  a 
formidable  fleet  of  gun-boats  in  the  Pei-ho,  anchored  not 
more  than  eighty  miles  from  the  Emperor's  palace,  with 
evident  intention  of  using  force  and  intimidation,  as  in 
the  previous  instance,  should  the  arts  of  diplomacy  fail 
of  complete  success.  These  considei-ations  should  be  es- 
teemed sufficient  justification  of  the  course  adopted  by 
the  Chinese  on  this  occasion.     The  embassies  were  not  re- 


RENEWAL    OF    HOSTILITIES.  109 

jected  nor  in  any  manner  treated  with  indignity.  The 
commissioners  informed  them  that  they  were  expected  at 
Peking,  but  that  the  channel  of  the  Pei-ho  was  effectu- 
ally closed,  and  that  they  must  proceed  by  another  route. 
At  the  same  time  assurances  were  given  that  they  would 
be  treated  with  all  due  consideration  and  respect  if  they 
would  but  leave  their  gun-boats  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and,  with  a  limited  escort,  put  themselves  under 
the  care  and  guidance  of  the  servants  of  the  Emperor. 
That  these  professions  were  sincere,  we  may  conclude 
from  the  fact  that  the  American  minister,  the  Hon.  J. 
E.  Ward,  accepting  them  in  good  faith,  visited  Peking; 
and,  although  refusing  obeisance  before  the  throne,  and 
therefore  unable  to  secure  an  audience,  was  nevertheless 
so  successful  as  to  effect  the  exchange  of  i*atifications. 
The  English  and  French,  who  could  see  in  this  proposi- 
tion of  the  Chinese  only  a  persistent  determination  to 
treat  them  as  inferiors  and  to  subject  them  to  petty  an- 
noyances, with  a  probable  sinister  intention  of  some 
kind  the  nature  of  which  could  only  be  surmised,  ex- 
pressed their  determination  to  go  to  Peking  by  the  usual 
and  direct  route,  and  to  take  with  them  as  large  a  com- 
pany of  foreign  soldiers  as  they  wished.  But  the  Chinese 
were  prepared  for  the  emergency.  Several  gun-boats 
were  disabled  by  the  fire  from  the  forts,  a  storming  party 
was  repelled,  and  the  allied  forces  were  obliged  with  great 
loss  to  withdraw  and  give  up  the  attack  as  a  complete 
failure.  While  the  English  and  French  were  thus  com- 
pelled to  retire  discomfited,  the  ministers  of  the  United 
States  and  Russia,  who  had  taken  no  part  in  this  en- 
counter, gained  all  the  advantages  sought  or  expected  by 
them. 


110  THE    FOREIGNER    IX    CHINA. 

The  repulse  of  the  allied  forces  at  Ta-koo,  however 
humiliating  and  disastrous  for  the  time  being,  could  have 
but  one  result.  It  was  now  determined  to  carry  the  war 
to  the  very  gates  of  Peking,  and  make  the  Chinese  ac- 
knowledge the  supremacy  of  Western  nations.  Talien- 
wan,  a  fine  bay  in  the  most  southern  peninsula  of  Leau- 
tung,  situated  directly  east  from  the  embouchure  of  the 
Pei-ho,  across  the  Gulf  of  Pe-che-le,  about  three  hundred 
miles  distant,  was  chosen  for  the  rendezvous  of  the  Brit- 
ish expedition,  and  a  large  marine  and  land  force  was 
soon  collected  at  that  point.  On  the  9th  of  July,  1860, 
Lord  Elgin  arrived  at  the  bay,  "  the  breath  of  Mars  issu- 
ing from  his  nostrils,  much  to  the  delight  of  the  whole 
army."  The  French  were  located  at  Che-foo,  where,  at  a 
conference  between  the  two  commanders-in-chief,  Sir  Hope 
Grant  and  General  Montauban,  a  plan  for  the  joint  ex- 
pedition was  arranged.  Soon  after,  the  ships  were  all 
formed  into  line  according  to  their  divisions,  and  pro- 
ceeded slowly  across  the  gulf  to  within  five  miles  of 
land.  Anchored  near  the  fleet  was  the  United  States 
ship  Hartford,  with  the  American  minister,  Mr.  Ward,  on 
board,  and  also  a  few  Russian  ships  of  war.  After  a 
short  reconnoitering  expedition  up  the  river,  .under  pro- 
tection of  the  American  flag,  an  offensive  movement  was 
begun  by  the  landing  of  a  small  detachment  of  the  allied 
force  on  a  mud-bank.  The  soldiers  were  compelled  to 
flounder  and  struggle  for  fully  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
before  reaching  anything  like  a  firm  footing.  Most  of 
the  men  were  disembarrassed  of  their  lower  integuments, 
and  one  gallant  brigadier  pursued  his  line  of  march  at 
the  head  of  the  column  with  no  other  garment  than  his 
shirt.    Other  troops  followed  in  larger  numbers,  and,  with- 


THE    NOKTH    CHINA    CAMPAIGN.  Ill 

out  a  single  shot  having  been  fired  by  the  enemy,  the 
outer  and  comparatively  unimportant  forts  were  occupied. 
The  secret  of  the  desertion  and  abandonment  of  these 
fortifications  was  partly  revealed  when  the  sappers  dug 
out  four  mines,  which  were  intended  to  operate  as  in- 
fernal machines  on  a  somewhat  extended  scale.  The 
neighboring  village  of  Peh-tang  fell  into  the  joint  pos- 
session of  the  English  and  French.  Sir  Hope  Grant  had 
given  strong  injunctions  against  looting;  but,  notwith- 
standing every  attempt  to  enforce  his  orders,  the  pro- 
vost-sergeants first  connived  at  and  then  became  active 
participants  in  the  plundering,  which  soon  spread  on  all 
sides.  The  French  officers  made  no  effort  to  prevent  a 
sack,  and  their  men  rushed  into  the  houses,  ruthlessly  de- 
stroying what  they  could  not  appropriate.  Many  of  the 
villagers  had  escaped,  numbers  of  both  men  and  women 
had  committed  suicide,  and  the  few  natives  that  still  lin- 
gered by  their  domiciles  watched  with  the  eye  of  despair 
the  destruction  of  all  the  property  they  possessed  in  the 
world. 

An  advance  northward  was  met  in  great  force  by  Tar- 
tar horsemen,  who  stood  in  unbroken  line  some  two  thou- 
sand yards  before  the  invading  columns,  their  appearance, 
as  described  by  a  spectator,  being  "  magnified  by  the  mi- 
rage into  giant  warriors  on  giant  steeds."  The  Armstrong 
guns  in  front  were  ordered  to  advance  and  open  fire  at 
a  range  of  fifteen  hundred  yards.  Shell  after  shell  burst 
over  the  devoted  heads  of  the  enemy,  but  the  line  re- 
mained unflinching  for  some  time,  closing  up  instantane- 
ously the  gaps  that  were  made  in  their  order  by  the 
murderous  missiles.  An  attempt  to  charge  and  surround 
the  English  was   persisted    in  despite  a  galling  fire  from 


1  12  TH  E    FOREIGN  BB    IN    (TUNA. 

rifles,  cannons  and  racket  batteries  that  "  would  have 
tried  any  troops  in  the  world,"  as  General  Napier  de- 
clared in  his  dispatches.  After  more  severe  fighting,  the 
First  Division  and  the  French  gained  possession  of  the 
entrenched  camp  that  commanded  the  road  from  Peh-tang 
to  Sin-ho,  while  the  retiring  Tartars  streamed  away  in 
the  direction  of  the  Ta-koo  forts.  In  this  first  battle  of 
the  campaign,  as  the  English  commandant  justly  observed, 
the  enemy  behaved  "  with  courageous  endurance."  But 
what  could  their  force  of  six  or  seven  thousand  cavalry, 
armed  with  bows  and  arrows  and  spears,  and  their 
wretched  gingals,  do  against  ten  thousand  well  armed 
and  disciplined  British  troops  supported  by  five  thousand 
French? 

Sin-ho  and  Tang-koo  were  next  captured;  and  in  the 
different  mandarin  residences  of  those  towns,  Chinese  let- 
ters and  other  documents  were  discovered  which  pos- 
sessed a  curious  interest  as  revealing  the  train  of  Chi- 
nese ideas  on  their  relations  to  the  hostile  foreigners. 
One  of  these  was  a  decree  from  the  "  Great  Council  of 
Peking "  to  San-ko-lin-sin,  generalissimo  of  the  Forces, 
and  to  Hong-fuh,  governor  of  Chih-li,  inclosing  the  ulti- 
matum sent  to  the  government  by  Mr.  Bruce  at  Shang- 
hai, with  some  extracts  from  the  newspapers.  It  com- 
ments on  the  rebellious  language  of  the  "  barbarians," 
mentions  the  fact  that  their  ships  were  surveying  the 
coast  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ta-koo  to  find  a  landing- 
place,  quotes  the  newspaper  statement  as  given  in  a  letter 
from  Commissioner  Hao  that  an  invasion  of  thirty  thou- 
sand men  is  projected,  and  alludes  to  a  debate  in  the  House 
of  Commons  on  the  subject  of  the  war.  In  the  reply  of 
San-ko-lin-sin  and  Hong-fuh  to  the  above,  it  was   stated 


THE    NORTH    CHINA    CAMPAIGN".  113 

that  the  "  barbarians "  would  not  venture  again  to  attack 
the  forts  in  front;  that  they  would  in  all  probability 
land  at  Peh-tang,  which  was  indeed  unprotected,  but  in 
their  attempts  to  cross  the  plains  toward  Sin-ho  the  in- 
vincible Tartar  cavalry  would  find  no  difficulty  in  cutting 
up  thirty  thousand  such  troops  as  the  enemy  possessed; 
and  that  if  by  any  extraordinary  good  luck  they  should 
succeed  in  passing  Sin-ho,  then  they  would  certainly  run 
their  heads  against  the  forts  as  they  did  the  year  before. 
From  this  it  is  quite  apparent  that  the  Tartar  general 
made  the  fatal  mistake  of  supposing  that  the  English 
and  French  had  been  laboring  under  cowardly  fear  ever 
since  the  defeat  of  1859,  and  that  their  announcement 
of  preparations  on  a  large  scale  was  only  a  mask  to 
cover  their  apprehension  and  discomfiture.  But  one  natu- 
rally wonders  how  a  people  so  indifferent  to  foreign  poli- 
tics as  were  the  Chinese  should  have  managed  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  the  speeches  relating  to  their  affairs 
delivered  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

An  advance  force  was  pushed  forward  to  a  position 
near  the  Ta-koo  forts,  when,  after  fatigue  parties  under 
the  direction  of  the  Royal  Engineers  had  worked  all  one 
night,  and  other  necessary  preparations  had  been  com- 
pleted, two  officers  were  sent  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  the 
north  fort  to  hold  an  interview  with  the  commandant. 
That  worthy  showed  his  head  through  an  embrasure  and 
demanded  their  business.  They  replied  that  they  had  come 
to  offer  terms  of  capitulation;  whereat  the  mandarin  be- 
came indignant  and  declared  he  would  accept  no  terms, 
and  that  if  the  allied  forces  wanted  the  forts  they  had 
better  come  and  take  them.  The  attack  was  finally  com- 
menced early  one  morning,  and  as  soon  as  daylight  ad- 
5* 


114  THE    FOBEIGNEB   IN    CHINA. 

mitted  of  the  enemy's  obseiwing  the  advance  of  the  storm- 
ing column  they  opened  fire  from  all  the  different  forts. 
The  attack  had  not  proceeded  long  before  a  magazine 
in  the  upper  north  fort  blew  up  with  a  terrific  roar  and 
explosion,  shaking  the  ground  for  miles  around  as  by  an 
earthquake.  Some  few  minutes  afterward  a  similar  ex- 
plosion in  the  lower  north  fort  occurred,  effected  by  a 
shell  from  the  gun-boats  lying  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
The  field  guns  were  then  advanced  to  within  five  hundred 
yards  of  the  inner  south  fort,  and  under  their  heavy 
fire  a  breach  was  soon  made.  A  party  of  French  and  En- 
glish infantry  approached  to  within  thirty  yards,  intending 
to  storm  the  apparently  disabled  fortifications;  but  the 
enemy  emerged  from  their  cover  and  opened  a  sharp 
fii-e  of  musketry.  A  gallant  attempt  of  the  French  to 
escalade  the  walls  was  rendered  ineffectual  from  the  vig- 
orous resistance  of  the  Chinese.  The  efforts  of  the  sap- 
pers to  lay  a  pontoon  bridge  over  the  wet  ditch  were 
unavailing,  no  less  than  fifteen  of  the  men  carrying  it 
being  knocked  over  in  an  instant  and  one  of  the  pontoons 
destroyed.  A  reinforcement  both  of  artillery  and  in- 
fantry was  brought  forward  and  the  attack  pressed  with 
greater  vigor  than  ever,  when  the  breach  was  mounted 
and  carried,  the  garrison  being  driven  step  by  step  and 
hurled  pell-mell  through  the  embrasures  on  the  opposite 
side.  Consequent  upon  this  decisive  action,  the  south 
and  lower  north  forts  hauled  down  their  flags  of  defi- 
ance and  substituted  the  flags  of  truce,  and  this  was  fol- 
lowed by  an  unconditional  surrender  of  the  whole  country 
on  the  banks  of  the  Pei-ho  as  far  as  Tien-tsin.  The 
victory  was  dearly  bought,  as  a  large  number  of  the 
casualties   were   among   the    English    officers,    twenty-two 


THE    NORTH    CHINA    CAMPAIGN.  115 

of  whom  were  wounded,  besides  seventeen  men  killed 
and  one  hundred  and  sixty-one  wounded,  the  French 
sustaining  a  loss  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty,  and 
some  of  their  officers  killed.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was 
far  greater;  for  their  dead  lay  everywhere,  both  inside 
and  outside  the  forts,  and  their  list  of  casualties  was 
thought  to  have  been  not  less  than  two  thousand.  Among 
the  slain  was  the  general  in  command  of  the  forts,  who 
fell  by  the  revolver  of  a  captain  of  the  Royal  Marines. 
Robert  Swinhoe,  staff  interpreter  to  Sir  Hope  Grant, 
in  his  "  Narrative  of  the  North  China  Campaign,"  volun- 
teers the  statement  that  "  The  Tartars  undoubtedly  fought 
like  bx*ave  men,  hurling  down  all  kinds  of  uncouth  mis- 
siles at  the  storming  party,  and  when  our  troops  had 
effected  an  entrance  every  inch  of  the  ground  inside  the 
fort  was  disputed."  But  he  is  inclined  to  think  that  the 
bravery  of  the  enemy  was  very  much  the  result  of  de- 
spair, as  by  blocking  the  assailants  out  they  had  pretty 
effectually  blocked  themselves  in.  He  further  says,  "  The 
fearless  conduct,  however,  of  the  Cantonese  coolies  in  our 
lines  excited  considerable  admiration.  They  seemed  to 
enjoy  the  fun,  and  shouted  with  glee  at  every  good  shot 
that  carried  a  murderous  mission,  no  matter  whether  it 
committed  havoc  among  the  enemy  or  bowled  over  our 
unfortunate  fellows;  and  those  in  French  employ  were 
conspicuous  in  the  front  assisting  the  troops  and  standing 
up  to  their  necks  in  the  ditches  holding  ladders  over  their 
heads  to  enable  the  men  to  cross.  All  this,  it  will  be 
argued,  shows  no  lack  of  pluck  in  the  Chinese  character 
when  opportunity  is  given  for  its  demonstration;  but  we 
must  not  forget  that  the  people  from  whom  these  corps 
were  taken  were   mostly   thieves   or   pirates   hardened  to 


116  THE    FOREIGNER    IX    CHINA. 

deeds  of  blood,  and  depending  largely  upon  such  acts  for 
their  maintenance."  "  Many  of  the  officers,"  he  says, 
"•  maintained  that  if  the  Chinese  were  drilled  and  led  they 
would  make  excellent  soldiers.  This  I  do  not  attempt  to 
gainsay,  knowing,  as  all  must  know,  how  many  of  the 
Asiatics  and  instinctively  cowardly  races,  as  the  Ben- 
galees and  Turks,  have  turned  out  under  such  treat- 
ment." 

The  approach  to  Tien-tsin  from  the  river  was  defended 
by  a  small  fort  on  each  bank  of  the  Pei-ho,  situated  about 
two  miles  below  the  city.  Inland  from  these  forts  on 
either  hand  extended  long  crenelated  walls,  which,  taking 
a  semi-circular  sweep,  girded  the  town  and  its  suburbs, 
with  an  estimated  length  of  fifteen  miles.  This  fortifica- 
tion did  not  seriously  impede  the  march  of  the  allies,  al- 
though, had  it  been  defended  by  sharpshooters,  it  might 
have  given  considerable  annoyance  to  the  advance  force. 
The  wall,  which  has  been  appropriately  termed  "  San-ko- 
lin-sin's  folly,"  was  constructed  of  mud,  and  had  been  re- 
cently thrown  up  under  the  directions  of  the  general- 
issimo, evidently  as  a  bugbear  to  frighten  at  a  distance. 
It  bore  no  marks  of  mounted  guns,  and  had,  in  all 
probability,  been  raised  with  the  intention  of  beating 
back  light-armed  troops,  an  idea  having  prevailed  among 
the  Chinese  that  the  English  were  a  peculiarly  maritime 
race,  who,  while  they  could  manceuver  large  guns  on 
shipboard,  were  quite  unpracticed  in  field  artillery. 

San-ko-lin-sin  had  proved  himself  a  good  engineer  by 
the  masterly  manner  in  which  he  had  constructed  the 
forts  and  made  them  impregnable  from  the  sea.  Having 
made  every  preparation  for  the  encounter  with  a  naval 
power,  the  indignant  mandarin  deemed  it  an  unpardona- 


THE    NORTH    CHINA    CAMPAIGN.  117 

ble  breach  of  military  etiquette,  known  only  among  "bar- 
barians," to  approach  the  Ta-koo  fortifications  in  the  rear! 
As  a  general,  he  had  wholly  miscalculated  his  enemy,  and 
now  nothing  could  be  done  but  to  allow  the  victorious 
allies  to  advance  in  force,  and  then  to  call  in  the  assist- 
ance of  diplomacy  to  delay  their  further  progress  in 
numbers.  To  inveigle  them  forward  in  small  parties, 
under  the  blinding  title  of  guards  to  the  foreign  minis- 
ters, while  he  might  have  time  to  complete  his  last  and 
formidable  preparations  for  the  defense  of  Peking,  doubt- 
less became  his  policy  at  this  critical  juncture.  This  plan, 
which  well  nigh  succeeded  at  one  time,  soon  came  to 
naught,  and  the  line  of  march  was  resumed. 

Frequent  fighting,  much  of  it  mere  skirmishing,  with 
now  and  then  a  serious  encounter,  marked  the  slow  prog- 
ress of  the  invading  army.  The  usual  plunder  and  wan- 
ton destruction  of  property  in  the  captured  villages  was 
alike  participated  in  by  the  English,  French,  Seikhs,  and 
Cantonese  coolies,  the  efforts  of  British  officers  to  prevent 
it  proving  of  little  avail.  The  approach  of  the  foreign 
soldiers  produced  general  alarm  and  trepidation  among 
the  population,  the  appearance  of  the  black  and  turbaned 
Punjaubee  troops  exciting  a  peculiar  terror,  and  many 
cases  of  self-destruction  transpired. 

Some  time  after  one  of  the  engagements,  in  a  cemetery 
where  the  carcasses  of  horses  and  their  lifeless  riders  were 
mingled  in  promiscuous  and  deadly  confusion,  a  British 
officer  discovered  a  solitary  native  who  presented  a  fitting 
type  of  the  horrors  and  desolations  of  war.  The  unfor- 
tunate man,  emaciated  and  quite  bereft  of  sense,  no  doubt 
through    wounds    and    starvation,    was    plucking    up    the 


118  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

grass  by  handfuls  and  eating  it.  The  officer  spoke  to 
him,  and  tried  to  get  him  off  the  place;  but  in  reply  he 
returned  a  vacant  stare  and  shrieked  menacingly,  and 
the  narrator  left  him  sitting  like  a  specter  among  the 
dead. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BELEAGUERED   CAPITAL. 

ALTHOUGH  the  early  history  of  Peking  is  involved  in 
-*--*-  obscurity,  we  are  able  to  go  back  as  far  as  the 
thirteenth  century  in  our  quest  of  positive  information 
concerning  this  ancient  city.  Without  doubt,  it  was  be- 
sieged and  taken  by  the  Mongols  under  Zingis  Khan; 
but  we  are  inclined  to  regard  as  apocryphal  the  state- 
ment of  the  Chinese  historian  that  the  inhabitants,  for 
want  of  ammunition,  discharged  ingots  of  gold  and  silver 
upon  their  assailants  during  that  notable  siege.  Kublai 
Khan  rebuilt  it,  and  made  it  his  capital  in  1260.  The 
Mongol  dynasty  continued  to  occupy  this  seat  of  empire 
till  it  was  expelled  from  China,  in  1367.  In  1421  the 
third  emperor  of  the  native  Ming  dynasty  transferred 
his  residence  thither  from  Nanking.  When  the  Manchoos, 
in  1644,  assumed  the  government,  they  found  a  magnifi- 
cent city  ready  for  them. 

Peking,  or  Pae-ching  in  the  court  dialect,  i.  e.,  "  North- 
ern Capital,"  is  built  on  a  gently  sloping  plain,  sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  a  semicircle  of  mountains; 
which  fact,  together  with  the  happy  distribution  of  the 
neighboring  rivers  among  the  astrological  divinities  that 
are  supposed  to  dominate  the  earth's  surface,  constitute 
peculiar  advantages  in  a  geomantic  point  of  view.  To  the 
west,  northwest  and  south  are  the  imperial  parks.  In 
various  directions  are  numerous  temples  :   some  of   them 

119 


120  THE    FOREIGNER    IN   CHINA. 

venerable  with  the  dust  and  decay  of  centuries,  others 
extrusive,  elaborate,  populous  with  deities,  and  resplendent 
with  barbaric  art.  Frequently  near  at  hand,  but  not  in 
every  instance,  are  to  be  seen  the  cities  of  the  dead, — 
marked  by  the  grave,  the  monument,  and  the  ancestral 
tablet.  The  Ming  Tombs,  situated  in  a  beautiful  valley 
thirty  miles  northward,  are  entered  by  a  gateway  cut  in 
solid  marble  seventy  feet  long  by  fifty  feet  high.  The 
curious  traveler  may  at  any  time  be  admitted  through 
these  lofty  portals,  when,  advancing  between  six  rows  of 
pine  and  cypress  trees  on  either  side,  entering  the  Dragon 
and  Phoenix  Gate,  then  emerging  among  various  works  of 
nature  and  art,  until,  having  traversed  the  long  avenue 
lined  with  colossal  elephants,  lions,  unicorns,  camels  and 
horses,  and  the  figures  of  military  and  civil  mandarins, 
each  statue  wrought  out  of  a  single  stone,  he  may  at  length 
stand  before  those  windowless  palaces  where  the  high  and 
mighty  rulers  of  China  repose  in  the  dread  sleep  of  ages. 
Not  very  distant  to  the  northwest  is  the  Yuen-ming- 
yuen,  or  Summer  Seat  of  the  Emperor,  and  nearer  yet, 
in  village-like  clusters  on  every  side,  are  the  extensive 
suburbs. 

As  the  environments  are  of  peculiar  interest,  so  the 
imperial  city  is  notable  in  itself  on  many  accounts.  It 
consists  of  two  continuous  cities,  each  separately  sur- 
rounded by  walls,  the  entire  circumference  being  twenty- 
five  miles.  The  North  City,  which  is  nearly  a  perfect 
square,  consists  of  three  inclosures,  the  outer  one  having 
formerly  been  occupied  exclusively  by  the  Tartar  garri- 
son, but  now  is  used  for  purposes  of  trade  and  residence 
by  a  mixed  population  of  Chinese  and  Manchoos.  The 
second    inclosure  is   inhabited    mainly  by  the  latter  race, 


THE    BELEAGUERED   CAPITAL.  121 

and  is  intended  to  contain  certain  distinctively  national 
institutions.  The  inner  inclosure,  or  "  Purple  Forbidden 
City,"  constitutes  the  palace,  and  covers  half  a  square 
mile  of  ground.  The  main  wall,  which  has  nine  gates 
with  a  semicircular  enceinte  outside  of  each  gate,  is  about 
forty  feet  high,  is  broader  than  it  is  high,  and  is  defended 
by  massive  buttresses,  and  approached  at  intervals  on  the 
inside  by  inclined  planes  of  substantial  masonry.  The 
top  of  the  wall  affords  a  vast  open  space,  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  broad  buttresses,  which  is  of  sufficient 
extent  to  afford  perfect  ease  in  deploying  an  army.  There 
is  a  tower  over  each  of  the  gates,  besides  one  at  each 
corner,  and  they  are  built  of  brick,  in  some  instances 
more  than  a  hundred  feet  high,  baving  a  large  number 
of  embrasures  for  cannon.  The  walls  of  the  Southern 
City  are  twenty-two  feet  in  height,  and  inclose  a  paral- 
lelogram nearly  five  miles  long  and  two  miles  wide.  The 
whole  population  is  reckoned  by  native  tables  at  two  and 
a  half  millions,  but  a  careful  foreign  estimate  would  not 
place  it  much  above  one  million.  Although  not  among 
the  most  populous,  it  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  remarkable,  cities  of  the  world.  Not  only  is  it  the 
seat  of  an  empire  far  more  extensive  than  Rome  pos- 
sessed in  its  palmiest  days,  surrounded  by  walls  and 
towers  acknowledged  to  be  built  on  a  scale  truly  mag- 
nificent, but  it  has  other  characteristics  not  unworthy  of 
renown.  Its  great  bell,  which  Virbiest  says  is  120,000 
pounds  in  weight,  or  94,600  pounds  heavier  than  the 
weight  of  the  bell  of  Erfurt,  "the  queen  of  bells";  its 
Yung-ho-kung,  a  Lama  monastic  institution  containing 
from  thirteen  to  fifteen  hundred  devotees,  and  a  colossal 
image  of  Maitreya,  the  coming  Boodha,  seventy  feet  high, 
6 


122  THE    FOREIGNER    IS    CHINA. 

with  a  prayer-wheel  reaching  upward  through  successive 
stones  to  an  equal  height  with  the  image;  its  Temple  of 
Heaven,  where  once  a  year  is  displayed  the  most  pompous 
religious  ceremonial  perhaps  ever  witnessed  in  the  whole 
pagan  world,  when  the  Emperor  himself  officiates  as  the 
High  Priest  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  million  people  ; 
its  provincial  college,  within  whose  walls  ten  thousand 
students  periodically  gather  in  eager  contest  for  the  hon- 
ors of  superior  scholarship,  with  the  yet  more  august 
Hall  of  Precious  Harmony,  where  the  Son  of  Heaven  pre- 
sides in  person  and  awards  to  successful  competitors  the 
highest  literary  degree  ;  its  extensive  rice  granaries  and 
other  depositories  of  imperial  revenue;  its  immense  ya- 
muns  provided  for  the  several  departments  of  state  and 
presided  over  by  the  chiefs  of  government;  and,  above 
all,  the  palace,  where,  surrounded  by  a  tx*iple  wall  and 
guarded  by  a  host  of  bannermen,  His  Supreme  Majesty 
dwells  amid  scenes  which  can  alone  be  adequately  pic- 
tured and  admired  by  the  oriental  imagination, —  together 
with  the  inferior  princely  palaces,  the  innumerable  lesser 
temples,  and  the  many  objects  of  art  and  monuments  of 
antiquity, —  contribute  to  make  the  Chinese  metropolis 
at  least  the  most  unique  and  famous  of  Asiatic  cities.* 

On  the  5th  of  October  the  whole  force  of  the  allies 
approached,  when  a  halt  was  sounded  near  some  grass- 
grown  brick-kilns,  from  the  tops  of  which  the  officers 
obtained  their  first  view  of  the  long-secluded  capital  of 
the  Celestial  Empire.  The  city  lay  at  a  distance  of  some 
six  miles,  almost  hidden  by  its  long  line  of  wall,  but 
the  towers   looming   conspicuously  through  the   clear   at- 

*Rev.  J.  Edkins.  D.D.,  in  Williamson's  ••Journeys  in  North  China."  vol.  ii, 
pp.  313-392. 


THE    BELEAGUERED    CAPITAL.  123 

mosphere.  The  English  general  and  staff  officers  assem- 
bled on  the  top  of  a  mound  to  deliberate  on  the  plan 
of  attack;  but  in  consequence  of  a  request  from  the 
French  commander-in-chief,  proceedings  were  delayed  till 
the  morrow,  and  the  troops  bivouacked  and  pitched  their 
tents  where  they  were. 

Next  morning  betimes  the  march  was  resumed.  The 
French  general  advanced  at  once  on  the  Summer  Pal- 
ace, accompanied  by  an  English  brigade.  The  latter  met 
at  one  point  a  procession  of  Chinese  travelers,  the  chief 
personage  being  a  pale  young  man  seated  in  a  large 
sedan,  who  was  much  alarmed  at  the  unexpected  appear- 
ance of  foreign  soldiers,  and  who,  knocking  his  head 
against  the  bottom  of  the  chair,  prayed  the  pi*ivilege  of 
being  allowed  to  pass,  as  he  was  only  a  civilian  engaged 
in  escorting  the  coffin  of  his  father  to  his  native  village. 
The  brigadier,  through  his  interpreter,  assured  him  that 
none  of  his  people  would  harm  him.  This,  doubtless,  the 
gallant  officer  really  believed;  but  his  men,  without  the 
knowledge  of  their  commander,  afterward  seized  the  coffin 
for  the  sake  of  the  mules  that  carried  it,  and  these 
latter  being  properly  secured,  the  former  was  thrown 
into  a  ditch. 

It  was  ascertained  from  a  servant  of  the  Emperor, 
captured  the  next  day,  that  His  Majesty,  who  was  suffering 
much  from  ill  health,  had  left  some  fifteen  days  before 
for  Gehol,  his  northern  hunting  and  pleasure  grounds 
in  the  borders  of  Tartary,  carrying  with  him  his  thirteen 
wives  and  a  large  retinue.  The  retreat  had  been  made 
in  great  haste,  but  Prince  Kung  had  stayed  behind  till 
the  evening  previous,  when  the  intelligence  was  brought 
that   the    allies    were    actually    marching    on    the    place. 


124  Til  K     rOKKIGXEK    IX    <   II  I  N  \. 

Tlif  prince  had  finally  taken  a  precipitate  leave  of  the 
premises,  giving  directions  to  the  eunuchs,  some  three 
hundred  in  number,  to  make  a  valiant  defense.  The 
French  assaulted  the  palace,  and,  on  bursting  open  the 
doors,  the  eunuchs  opposed  their  entrance  to  the  holy 
precincts  of  the  Dragon  Hall;  but  two  of  their  number 
being  killed  and  others  wounded,  and  seeing  no  hope  of 
making  a  successful  resistance,  the  remainder  ignomini- 
ously  retreated.  Meanwhile,  Sir  Hope  Grant,  after  a 
slight  skirmish  with  a  picket  of  Tartars  at  the  Tih-shing 
suburb,  had  driven  them  into  the  city  gate,  and  was 
awaiting  the  auspicious  moment  when  a  combined  attack 
could  be  arranged. 

The  French  were  encamped  in  front  of  the  grand  en- 
trance to  the  Yuen-ming-yuen,  under  the  trees  between 
two  artificial  lakes.  After  the  capture  of  the  entrance, 
a  guard  had  been  posted  at  the  gate,  and  for  a  brief 
time  the  soldiers  were  restrained  in  their  fierce  instinct 
for  plunder.  But  soon  General  Montauban  himself  led 
the  way  into  the  palace,  solemnly  protesting  all  the 
while  that  he  had  strictly  prohibited  his  troops  from  en- 
tering within  its  walls,  as  he  had  determined  that  no 
looting  should  take  place  before  the  British  came  up, 
that  all  might  have  an  equal  share.  On  the  center  of  a 
wide  pavement,  and  facing  the  gate,  stood  the  grand  re- 
ception hall,  into  which  the  eager  foreigners  pressed  their 
way.  Here  they  found  themselves  on  a  smooth  marble 
floor  in  front  of  the  Emperor's  throne,  and  in  a  spacious 
apartment  where  everything  was  calculated  to  inspire 
with  awe  the  chosen  few  who  were  privileged  to  draw 
near  on  ceremonial  days  and  render  obeisance  before  the 
much-dreaded  Brother  of  the  Sun  and  Moon. 


THE    BELEAGUERED    CAPITAL.  125 

"  Imagine  such  a  scene,"  says  Swinhoe.  "  The  Em- 
peror is  seated  on  his  ebony  throne,  attired  in  a  yellow 
robe  wrought  over  with  dragons  in  gold  thread,  his  head 
surmounted  with  a  spherical  crown  of  gold  and  precious 
stones,  with  pearl  drops  suspended  round  on  light  gold 
chains.  His  eunuchs  and  ministers,  in  court  costume, 
ranged  on  either  side  on  their  knees,  and  his  guard  of 
honor  and  musicians  drawn  up  in  two  lines  in  the  court- 
yard without.  The  name  of  the  distinguished  pei'sonage 
to  be  introduced  is  called  out,  and  as  he  approaches 
the  band  strikes  up.  He  draws  near  the  awful  throne, 
and,  looking  meekly  on  the  ground,  drops  on  his  knees 
before  the  central  steps.  He  removes  his  hat  from  his 
head,  and  places  it  on  the  throne  floor,  with  its  peacock's 
feather  toward  the  imperial  donor.  The  Emperor  moves 
his  hand,  and  down  goes  the  humble  head,  and  the  fore- 
head strikes  on  the  step  three  times  three.  The  head  is 
then  raised,  but  the  eyes  are  still  meekly  lowered,  as  the 
imperial  voice  in  thrilling  accents  pronounces  the  behest 
of  the  great  master.  The  voice  hushed,  down  goes  the 
head  again  and  acknowledges  the  sovereign  right,  and 
the  privileged  individual  is  allowed  to  withdraw.  The 
scene  described  is  not  imaginary,  but  warranted  by  the 
accounts  of  natives.  How  different  the  scene  now!  The 
hall  filled  with  crowds  of  a  foreign  soldiery,  and  the 
throne  floor  covered  with  the  Celestial  Emperor's  choicest 
curios,  but  destined  as  gifts  for  two  far  more  worthy 
monarchs.  '  See  here,'  said  General  Montauban,  point- 
ing to  them,  'I  have  had  a  few  of  the  most  brilliant 
things  selected  to  be  divided  between  the  Oueen  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  Emperor  of  the   French.' " 

Various  compartments  of  the  palace  were  visited,  among 


126  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

them  the  Emperor's  bedroom.  Here  was  seen  the  im- 
perial couch,  curtained  over  and  covered  with  silk  mat- 
tresses. A  small  silk  handkerchief,  with  sundry  writings 
in  the  vermilion  pencil  about  the  "  barbarians,"  was  under 
the  pillow,  and  pipes  and  other  Chinese  luxuries  were  on 
a  table  close  by.  The  English  treaty  of  1858,  with  its 
envelope,  also  lay  on  a  table,  besides  a  large  quantity 
of  pencilings  in  the  Emperor's  own  hand,  most  of  which 
had  reference  to  the  allies.  The  English  narrator  states 
that  he  and  his  companions  were  proceeding  to  examine 
the  objects  of  interest  as  we  would  the  curiosities  of  a 
museum,  when  to  their  astonishment  the  French  officers 
commenced  to  appropriate  everything  they  took  a  fancy 
to.  "  Gold  watches  and  small  valuables  were  whipped 
up  by  these  gentlemen  with  amazing  velocity,  and  as 
speedily  disappeared  into  their  capacious  pockets."  After 
allowing  this  sort  of  proceeding  to  continue  for  awhile, 
the  general  insisted  upon  the  crowd  following  him  out, 
repeating  the  statement  that  looting  was  strictly  prohib- 
ited! Presently  an  officer  accosted  him  and  imparted 
the  information  that  they  had  caught  a  Chinese  stealing 
an  old  pair  of  shoes  out  of  the  imperial  grounds.  "  Bring 
him  here,"  said  the  indignant  general.  "  Have  we  not 
said  that  looting  is  strictly  forbidden?"  The  trembling 
prisoner  came  forward,  when  the  general  exhausted  his 
wrath  in  plying  with  his  cane  about  the  shoulders  of 
the  luckless  scapegoat. 

By  this  time  the  French  camp  was  revelling  in  silks 
and  bijou  articles  of  rare  curiosity  or  of  great  value. 
Watches,  pencil-cases  set  with  diamonds,  jeweled  vases, 
and  many  other  curios  were  shown  by  their  exultant 
possessors,    one    officer    exhibiting    a    string    of    splendid 


THE    BELEAGUERED    CAPITAL.  127 

pearls,  each  pearl  being  of  the  size  of  a  marble  and  the 
whole  representing  almost  a  fabulons  sum.  Sir  Hope 
Grant  and  staff  having  arrived  at  length,  General  Mon- 
tauban  welcomed  him,  and  positively  assured  him  that 
nothing  had  as  yet  been  taken  from  the  palace;  but  as 
the  latter  walked  through  the  camp  his  own  eyes  must 
have  undeceived  him.  Lord  Elgin  next  came  up,  and, 
filled  with  indignation  at  what  he  saw,  uttered  his  pro- 
test, saying  in  plain  terms,  "  I  would  like  a  great  many 
things  that  the  palace  contains,  but  I  am  not  a  thief." 
On  Sunday  morning,  the  7th  of  October,  all  restraint  to 
looting  was  withdrawn,  and  officers  and  men,  English  and 
French,  were  rushing  about  the  place  in  a  most  unbe- 
coming and  excited  manner.  In  the  eagerness  for  the 
acquisition  of  valuables,  respect  for  position  was  com- 
pletely lost  sight  of,  and  the  most  perfect  disorder  pre- 
vailed. Officers  and  men  of  all  ranks  might  have  been 
seen  with  their  heads  and  hands  brushing  and  knocking 
together  in  the  same  box,  as  they  sought  to  secure  its 
contents,  or  in  the  scramble  going  on  over  some  collec- 
tion of  rich  and  costly  robes.  Not  only  was  licensed 
theft  everywhere  busy  and  everywhere  successful,  but  a 
spirit  of  wanton  destruction  seemed  to  inspire  nearly 
every  one.  Some  would  play  pitch- and- toss  against  the 
large  mirrors;  others  would  amuse  themselves  by  tak- 
ing "  cock "  shots  at  the  chandeliers;  while  some  of  the 
Frenchmen  were  armed  with  clubs,  and  what  they  could 
not  carry  away  they  smashed  to  atoms,  crowning  their 
work  of  destruction  in  the  interior  of  the  palace  by  set- 
ting fire  to  the  Emperor's  private  residence. 

A  commission  of  prize  agents  was  formed  by  Sir  Eope 
Grant    for   the    purpose   of  collecting    together    curiosities 


128  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

to  dispose  of  for  the  benefit  of  the  army,  and  the  officers 
composing  it  were  busy  all  day  in  making  their  selec- 
tions. As  numbers  of  the  officers  and  most  of  the  men 
had  by  their  duties  been  deprived  of  participating  in  the 
spoil,  and  fearing  the  dissatisfaction  that  seemed  inevita- 
ble and  that  might  have  very  serious  results,  orders  were 
issued  by  the  English  commander-in-chief  to  call  in  all 
the  loot  acquired  by  the  officers.  The  Bi-itish  share  of 
the  plunder  was  put  on  exhibition  in  the  hall  of  a  large 
Lama  temple,  and  the  whole  was  disposed  of  during  a  sale 
continuing  over  three  whole  days,  and  was  largely  at- 
tended both  by  officers  and  men.  The  proceeds  amounted 
to  thirty-two  thousand  dollars,  many  articles,  of  course, 
having  been  disposed  of  at  a  figure  far  below  the  real 
value.  Besides  this  sum,  the  amount  of  treasure  secured 
was  ascertained  to  be  about  sixty-one  thousand  dollars. 
For  weeks,  in  either  camp,  little  was  talked  of  but  curiosi- 
ties purloined  from  the  Summer  Palace.  Numbers  of  the 
French  officers  had  acquired  considerable  fortunes,  and 
their  men  were  scarcely  less  favored.  For  several  days 
the  soldiers  were  constantly  to  be  met  with  in  a  state  of 
intoxication,  while  much  disorder  and  serious  disturbances 
occurred  in  their  camp,  the  acquired  disposition  to  plun- 
der constantly  breaking  out  in  the  direction  of  neighbor- 
ing villages. 

The  work  of  spoliation  and  the  sale  of  an  emperor's 
effects  beneath  the  walls  of  his  own  capital  having  been 
completed,  the  great  achievement  which  the  allies  had  set 
before  themselves  was  now  to  be  attempted.  The  Chi- 
nese were  given  to  the  12th  for  the  surrender  of  the  An- 
ting gate.  The  plan  of  attack  contemplated  a  breach  in 
the  wall  some  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground,  and  the  troops 


THE    BELEAGUERED    CAPITAL.  129 

entering  by  the  breach,  reaching  the  summit  of  the  wall 
to  the  right,  were  to  proceed  to  the  gate  and  at  once  oc- 
cupy that  commanding  position.  A  trench  had  been 
pushed  within  one  hundred  yards  of  the  point  of  attack, 
and  the  batteries  were  all  prepared  as  the  hour  named 
for  the  surrender  drew  near.  The  gunners  stood  by  their 
pieces;  a  storming  party  was  being  paraded;  Mr.  Parkes, 
interpreter,  and  Colonel  Stephenson,  deputy  adjutant-gen- 
eral, had  repaired  to  a  position  near  the  wall  to  receive 
any  overtures  the  Chinese  might  make,  while  General 
Napier  stood  by  the  guns  with  a  watch  in  his  hand.  Five 
minutes  to  twelve!  The  artillerymen  could  scarcely  re- 
strain their  eager  excitement,  and  the  order  to  fire  was 
almost  on  the  lips  of  the  general,  when  Colonel  Stephen- 
son came  galloping  to  the  spot  and  announced  that  the 
gate  had  been  surrendered.  A  party  of  British  and  Pun- 
jaubees  immediately  entered  the  city,  driving  the  popu- 
lace before  them,  and  then  took  possession  of  the  gate, 
quartering  themselves  on  the  right  side.  The  French 
also  marched  in,  with  drums  beating  and  colors  flying, 
and  pushing  some  distance  farther  along  the  broad  street, 
returned  and  established  themselves  on  the  left  side  of  the 
An-ting. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  day  of  the  surrender,  several 
prisoners  were  restored  to  the  allies  in  a  fearfully  ema- 
ciated condition.  The  bodies  of  a  number  of  other  captives 
who  had  died  in  the  hands  of  their  enemies  were  also  sur- 
rendered, among  them  being  the  remains  of  Mr.  Bovvlby, 
the  ill-fated  correspondent  of  the  London  Times.  The  sad 
fate  of  their  countrymen,  who  had  doubtless  perished  from 
the  cruelty  and  neglect  that  too  often  mark  the  conduct  of 
the  Chinese  toward  their  prisoners  of  war,  aroused  great 


180  THE    FOREIGNEB    IN    CHIN  \ 

indignation  in  the  British  camp.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
fact  that  Sir  Hope  Grant  had  given  his  word  that  Peking 
would  be  spared  if  the  gate  was  immediately  surrendered, 
the  consequences  of  this  state  of  feeling,  which  was  shared 
alike  by  the  men  and  the  chief  officers  of  the  army,  might 
have  been  terrible  to  that  city.  Lord  Elgin  determined,  as 
the  most  that  could  be  accomplished  under  the  circum- 
stances, to  level  His  Majesty's  rural  retreat  to  the  ground, 
and  to  insist  on  compensation  for  the  bereaved  friends  of 
the  deceased  to  the  amount  of  300,000  taels,  or  about 
$500,000.  The  French  refused  to  cooperate  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  palace,  and  condemned  the  measure  as  a  piece 
of  barbarism,  forgetting  that  they  had  already  committed 
the  chief  offense  in  purloining  and  demolishing  the  works 
of  art  it  contained,  besides  having  tarnished  the  character 
of  their  army  by  the  unjustifiable  act  of  burning  a  valu- 
able library  found  in  the  Emperor's  private  residence.  The 
First  Division,  under  Genei-al  Michel,  soon  accomplished 
the  task  assigned  it.  The  long  column  of  smoke  rising  to 
the  sky,  and,  as  the  day  waned,  increasing  in  magnitude 
and  growing  denser  and  denser  until  wafted,  like  a  vast 
storm-cloud,  over  Peking,  told  the  distant  observer  the 
devastating  work  of  the  fire-fiend.  Before  sunset  of  the 
19th  every  building  in  the  imperial  grounds  had  been  fired, 
and  many  of  the  peasants'  houses  adjoining  had  been 
caught  by  the  flames,  and  wei*e  fast  being  reduced  to  ashes. 
Lord  Elgin  followed  the  act  of  retribution  by  this  formal 
notice  to  Prince  Kung:  "Unless  before  10  a.m.  on  the  20th 
the  Prince  informs  the  undersigned  in  writing  that  the 
sum  demanded  as  compensation  for  the  British  subjects 
who  have  been  maltreated  or  murdered  will  be  ready  for 
payment  on  the  22d,  and  that  he  will  be  prepared  to  sign 


THE    BELEAGUERED    CAPITAL.  131 

the  convention  and  to  exchange  ratifications  of  the  Treaty 
of  Tien-tsin  on  the  23d,  the  undersigned  will  again  call  on 
the  commander-in-chief  to  seize  the  Imperial  Palace  in 
Peking,  and  to  take  such  other  measures  to  compel  the 
Chinese  Government  to  accede  to  the  demands  of  that  of 
Great  Britain  as  may  seem  to  him  to  be  fitting."  Every 
preparation  was  made  to  carry  out  the  threat  on  the  palace 
inside  the  city,  and  troops  were  already  detailed  for  the 
attack,  when  a  communication  was  received  from  Prince 
Kung  conceding  everything  demanded. 

It  was  thought  that  the  Russian  embassador  residing  in 
the  capital  had  tendered  his  friendly  services  in  bringing 
about  the  concession,  by  pointing  out  to  the  Chinese  the 
folly  of  holding  out  any  longer  against  such  powerful 
enemies.  The  news  was  also  received  at  this  time  that  an 
army  of  Shen-si  insurrectionists  were  pushing  for  Peking, 
with  a  view  to  avail  themselves  of  the  present,  crisis  to 
extend  their  depredations.  The  proximity  of  these  rebels 
had,  no  doubt,  incited  the  Chinese  to  precipitate  the  settle- 
ment of  their  difficulties  with  the  foreign  foe. 

The  whole  of  the  indemnity  was  paid  by  Prince  Kung 
at  the  stipulated  time.  On  the  24th  Lord  Elgin  entered 
the  An-ting  gate  in  his  green  sedan-chair,  carried  by  six- 
teen coolies  in  scarlet  livery,  his  staif  on  horseback  on 
either  side,  and  proceeded  to  the  Hall  of  Ceremonies, 
attended  by  a  procession  of  infantry  and  cavalry,  forming 
altogether  a  force  of  eight  thousand  men.  The  line  of 
march  lay  through  one  of  the  principal  streets  of  the  city, 
and  the  Chinese  had  mustered  in  large  numbers  on  either 
side  to  witness  this  display  of  the  British  army.  After 
marching  about  one  mile  the  long  column  halted  before  a 
gate  over  which  was  written,  in  conspicuous  letters,  "  Hoard 


182  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

of  Ceremonies."  Passing  through  this  gate  into  a  large 
court-yard,  Lord  Elgin  found  Prince  Kung  and  numberless 
mandarins  already  in  waiting  in  the  open  hall,  standing  at 
the  farther  end.  As  his  lordship  advanced  up  the  avenue 
inside  the  gate,  between  the  opened  ranks  of  his  troops, 
they  presented  arms,  and  the  band  saluted  him  with  the 
national  air.  Advancing  to  the  seat  of  honor,  he  motioned 
the  prince  to  take  the  lower  seat  on  the  right,  while  Sir 
Hope  Grant  assumed  his  position  on  the  left.  From  the 
chair  of  the  commander-in-chief,  and  ranging  behind  a  row 
of  tables  down  the  hall,  sat  and  stood  the  inferior  English 
officers,  and  behind  similar  tables  on  the  right  were  ranged 
native  princes  and  mandarins  of  every  button.  The  at- 
taches and  interpreters  of  the  embassy  stood  behind  his 
lordship  and  Sir  Hope  Grant,  at  a  central  table  whereon 
were  placed  dispatch-boxes,  paper,  and  other  necessary 
official  apparatus;  and  the  prince  had  standing  by  him 
three  mandarins  of  rank. 

The  preliminaries  having  been  arranged,  the  High  Com- 
missioners proceeded  to  exhibit  their  respective  full  powers. 
Two  articles  which  had  not  been  proposed  in  the  previous 
convention  were  admitted, —  legalizing  coolie  emigration 
and  ceding  to  Her  Majesty's  government  the  peninsula  of 
Kow-loon,  opposite  Hong-Kong.  Following  the  signature 
of  the  convention  came  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of 
the  Treaty  of  Tien-tsin.  A  minute,  recording  the  pro- 
ceedings which  had  taken  place  in  connection  with  the 
exchange  of  ratifications,  was  then  drawn  up  in  duplicate, 
and,  receiving  the  signature  and  seal  of  each  of  the  pleni- 
potentiaries, one  copy  was  given  to  Lord  Elgin  and  the 
other  to  Prince  Kung.  The  business  having  been  con- 
cluded, the  prince  tendered  a  banquet,  which  was  declined 


THE    BELEAGUERED    CAPITAL.  133 

through  fear  that  the  treachery  of  the  Chinese  might  have 
poisoned  the  food;  and  Lord  Elgin  immediately  took  leave, 
accompanied  by  the  procession  as  before.  Soon  after,  the 
guns  on  the  An-ting  gate  announced  to  the  world  that 
peace  had  been  concluded  between  Great  Britain  and  China. 
The  French  exchanged  ratifications  on  the  following  day; 
and,  being  less  suspicious  than  their  Anglican  friends, 
readily  accepted  the  proffered  banquet,  which  passed  off 
with  much  ceremony,  and  in  entire  good  faith  on  the  part 
of  the  princely  host. 

The  Roman  Catholic  cathedral  of  the  Jesuits  in  the 
Northern  or  Tartar  City  had  long  been  deserted,  as  the 
celebration  of  Catholic  services  within  its  sanctuary  was 
forbidden,  and  the  cross  had  disappeared  off  its  summit. 
Two  priests  residing  in  the  capital  disguised  in  Chinese 
garb,  having  gained  the  influence  of  the  French  in  re- 
instating the  establishment  and  erecting  a  new  cross,  had 
now  renovated  the  place  and  put  the  sacred  edifice  into 
thorough  repair.  The  officers  of  the  allied  army  were 
invited  to  attend  the  reopening  service,  when  once  more 
the  Te  Deum  was  chanted  within  its  long-neglected  walls, 
in  grateful  homage  to  the  Almighty  Maker.* 

♦"Narrative  of  the  North  China  Campaign,''  by  Robert  Swinhoe,  pp.  271-361. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ROMAN   CATHOLIC   MISSIONS. 

f  I  ^HE  tradition  that  Christianity  was  introduced  into 
-*-  China  by  the  Apostle  Thomas  seems  not  to  be  well 
founded.  Among  the  three  thousand  Hindoos  in  the  coun- 
try helping  to  propagate  the  Boodhist  faith,  frequent  men- 
tion was  made  of  a  celebrated  ascetic  named  Tamo  (the 
full  name  in  Sanscrit  being  Bodhidharma)  as  having  come 
from  India  by  sea,  early  in  the  sixth  century.  The  first 
Romish  missionaries,  having  very  insufficient  information 
on  the  history  and  religions  of  China,  caught  at  the  name 
Tamo  as  a  Chinese  form  of  the  word  Thomas;  and  the  con- 
ceit was  strengthened  in  their  minds  by  the  description  of 
his  character  as  a  severe  ascetic  and  a  worker  of  miracles. 

It  is  possible  that  the  light  of  truth  spread  to  China  in 
the  early  ages  of  Christianity,  as  Arnobius  speaks  of  the 
effects  of  the  Gospel  among  the  Seres,  or  Chinese,  as  also 
among  the  Persians  and  Medes,  in  the  year  a.d.  300.  And 
as  several  monks  returned  from  that  country,  about  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century,  with  the  eggs  of  the  silk- 
worm, it  is  probable  that  these  teachers  of  religion  had 
resided  there  for  some  time. 

Chinese  history  mentions  the  arrival  of  certain  priests 
from  Ta-tsin,  or  Judea,  who  appeared  at  court  and  were 
approved  by  the  Emperor,  which  event  is  placed  in  a.d.  639. 
These  were  doubtless  Nestorian  Christians.  The  principal 
record  of  the  success  of  their  mission  is  a  celebrated  monu- 

134 


ROMAN"    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  135 

merit  in  Shen-si  province,  discovered  early  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  by  Romanists,  and  recently  visited  by  Prot- 
estant missionary  travelers  who  have  given  to  the  world  a 
trustworthy  account  of  the  same.  An  inscription  upon  it 
in  Chinese  and  Syriac  contains  a  short  history  of  the  sect 
from  the  year  630  to  781;  and  also  gives  a  summary  of 
Christian  truth.*  The  Churches  planted  by  them  nourished 
for  several  generations,  and  acquired  considerable  influence 
at  court  and  among  the  people.  Bishops  and  archbishops 
were  appointed  from  Persia,  their  ecclesiastical  headquar- 
ters. But  this  oriental  Church  by  degrees  lost  its  ardent 
faith,  its  evangelistic  enthusiasm,  and  departed  from  the 
truth  and  simplicity  of  the  Gospel;  and  its  dependent 
societies  in  China,  no  longer  visited  by  spiritual  teachers 
from  abroad,  gradually  declined,  until  the  last  of  their 
converts  were  incorporated  in  Catholic  missions.  It  has 
been  affirmed,  however,  that  "  there  is  reason  for  supposing 
that  in  certain  mountain  districts  whole  villages  and  tribes 
of  Nestorian  Christians  are  still  found,  and  that  they 
have  preserved  to  this  day  the  Scriptures  among  them." 
Through  the  instrumentality  of  some  of  these  early  mis- 
sionaries, the  art  of  writing  was  introduced  among  the 
Mongols;  and  a  monument  of  their  enterprise  and  skill  is 
seen  in  the  present  Mongolian  alphabet,  which  is  also  that 
used  by  the  Manchoos,  or  ruling  Tartars,  it  being  a  modifi- 
cation of  the  Syrian  character.! 

Rome  began  her  first  formal  efforts  for  the  conversion 
of  China  under  Pope  Innocent  IV,  more  than  six  hundred 
years  ago;  but  it  was  not  until  she  sought  to  recover  in 

»"  Christianity  in  China,"  by  Abbe  Hue;  Williamson's  ''Journeys  in  North 
'  hina  "  vol.  i,  pp.  880-883. 

tEdkin'8  "  Religious  Condition  of  the  Chinese."  p.  19. 


186  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

the  East  her  losses  by  the  Reformation  in  the  West,  that 
she  seriously  set  about  the  work  of  evangelization.  In 
passing  along  the  coast  of  China,  on  his  way  to  and  from 
Japan,  Francis  Xavier  felt  his  soul  fired  with  a  strong 
desire  to  proclaim  the  tidings  of  salvation  to  the  multi- 
tudes dwelling  in  this  vast  empire.  His  amazing  courage 
and  perseverance  brought  him  at  length  to  the  island  of 
San-shan,  about  thirty  miles  southwest  of  Macao,  where 
death  closed  his  illustrious  career.  Xavier  fell  at  the 
threshold  of  China,  his  great  enterprise  seemingly  brought 
to  an  end;  but  his  zeal  in  this  direction  led  others  to  un- 
dertake the  mission.  Various  attempts  were  made  by 
the  Dominican,  Augustine  and  Franciscan  orders  to  enter 
the  country,  but  they  all  proved  unsuccessful.  Vallg- 
nano,  the  superior  of  Romish  missions,  residing  in  Macao, 
as  he  walked  over  the  hills  in  the  neighborhood  of  that 
city,  would  often  cast  his  eyes  across  the  bay  to  the 
coast  of  China  and  exclaim,  "  Oh,  Rock,  Rock,  when  wilt 
thou  open ! "  He  finally  selected  three  Jesuits,  Paccio, 
Roger,  and  Ricci,  to  carry  out,  if  possible,  the  undertaking 
he  had  so  much  at  heart.* 

The  second  period  in  the  history  of  Romish  missions 
in  this  country  properly  begins  with  the  time  when  Matteo 
Ricci  established  himself  at  Canton,  in  the  year  1581. 
This  remarkable  man,  after  a  residence  of  seventeen  years 
in  various  provincial  cities,  at  length  passed  through  the 
interior  of  the  country  to  Peking,  where  he  made  the 
most  artful  use  of  his  scientific  attainments  in  carrying 
forward  his  important  enterprise.  A  number  of  Euro- 
pean scholars  of   the  Jesuit  class  soon  joined  him,   who 

*"  Modern  Christian  Missions,"  by  Rev.  M.  J.  Knowlton,  in  "North  rhina 
Herald";  republished  in  "The  Chinese  Recorder,"  April  1870. 


ROMAN    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  137 

added  greatly  to  the  celebrity  of  the  mission.  While 
they  were  engaged  in  the  capital,  other  propagandists 
were  less  conspicuously  but  effectively  employed  in  the 
provinces. 

Bicci  became  very  influential  at  court,  and  succeeded 
in  converting  to  the  Catholic  faith  several  high  officials. 
Of  these,  Paul  Siu,  a  native  of  Shanghai,  was  chief;  his 
daughter,  also,  who  took  at  her  baptism  the  name  Candida, 
became  a  zealous  adherent.  This  lady,  married  at  the 
age  of  sixteen  and  left  a  widow  with  eight  children  at 
thirty,  after  reserving  a  sufficient  portion  of  her  income 
for  the  support  of  her  family,  devoted  the  rest  of  her 
ample  fortune  and  the  remaining  forty-three  years  of  her 
life  to  benevolent  Christian  work.  She  erected,  at  her 
own  expense,  thirty- nine  churches  with  as  many  priestly 
residences,  in  various  parts  of  the  empire.  She  also 
printed  one  hundred  and  thirty  books  prepared  by  the 
missionaries,  established  a  hospital  for  abandoned  infants, 
"  and  seeing  many  blind  people  telling  stories  for  a  live- 
lihood, she  caused  a  number  of  them  to  be  instructed, 
and  sent  them  forth  to  relate  the  events  of  the  Gospel 
and  sacred  history."  After  reaching  a  venerable  age, 
and  having  spent  more  than  a  generation  in  deeds  of 
charity  and  in  various  efforts  to  promote  the  religion  she 
professed,  the  Emperor  conferred  on  her  the  title  of  Sho- 
jin,  or  "  virtuous  woman," — a  most  distinguished  mark 
of  His  Majesty's  favor,  the  fame  of  which  was  spread 
abroad    in  the  provinces.* 

Her  worthy  example  was  emulated  by  another  lady  of 
rank,  who  bore  the  Christain  name  of  Agatha. 

The  success  of  Ricci,  who  had  been  appointed  superior 

■  "The  Chinese  Recorder,"  April  isiu.  p.  318. 
6* 


138  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

of  all  the  missions  by  the  general  of  the  order,  awakened 
the  jealousy  and  bitter  opposition  of  the  literati.  A  per- 
secution arose,  which  continued  four  or  five  years,  and  an 
imperial  edict  was  obtained  commanding  the  missionaries 
to  depart  from  Peking  to  Canton,  there  to  embark  for 
Europe;  but,  taking  the  opportunity  of  a  critical  state  in 
the  affairs  of  the  government,  Paul  Siu  memorialized  the 
throne  in  behalf  of  the  missionaries  and  secured  their 
recall.  This  persecution  was  preceded  by  the  death  of 
Ricci,  and  for  some  time  there  was  no  one  of  sufficient 
ability  to  take  his  place.  Paul  Siu,  however,  continued 
to  exert  his  great  influence  in  their  favor,  and  the  mis- 
sions flourished  under  his  patronage.  In  the  year  1628, 
John  Adam  Schaal,  a  German  Jesuit,  arrived  at  Peking, 
and  was  favorably  received  by  the  Emperor.  His  talents 
and  learning  soon  placed  him  in  advance  of  all  his  breth- 
ren, and  gave  him  extensive  influence  among  the  chiefs 
of  government. 

A  change  of  dynasty  occurred  about  this  time.  The 
Manchoos  having  been  called  in  to  aid  in  putting  down 
two  rebel  chiefs,  not  only  performed  that  service  but  pro- 
ceeded to  take  possession  of  the  capital  and  establish 
their  own  prince  on  the  throne  of  the  Celestial  Empire. 
In  the  North,  Schaal  and  the  other  missionaries  prudently 
gave  in  their  adhesion  to  the  Tartar  rule,  while  in  the 
South  the  Christians  joined  the  Ming  standard.  A  pseudo- 
emperor,  under  the  title  of  Tung-li,  established  his  seat 
of  government  in  one  of  the  cities  of  Kwang-tung  pro- 
vince, his  cause  having  been  valiantly  and  successfully 
championed  by  two  Christian  Chinese  generals,  Thomas 
Kiu  and  Luke  Chin.  Tung-li's  mother,  wife  and  son 
were  baptized  with  the  names  Helen,  Maria  and  Constan- 


ROMAN    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  139 

tine.  Pope  Alexander  VII  was  induced  to  give  some  sort 
of  recognition  to  this  movement,  and  the  southern  mis- 
sionaries were  permitted  for  a  time  to  indulge  the  hope 
of  witnessing  a  procession  of  occurrences  in  the  Far  East 
which  would  find  their  parallel  alone  in  the  great  events 
of  early  Latin  Christianity.  But  this  expectation  of  hav- 
ing a  Chinese  "  Constantine  the  Great "  was  soon  cut  off 
by  the  untimely  death  of  their  emperor  and  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Manchoo,  or  Ta-ching,  dynasty.  During  these 
troublous  times,  extending  over  a  period  of  thirty  years 
(1630-1660),  the  missions  suffered  much,  as  the  priests  re- 
tired to  places  of  safety  from  the  molestations  of  soldiers 
and  banditti,  and  the  converts  were  left  without  spiritual 
instruction. 

The  first  Manchoo  emperor,  Shun-chi,  conceived  a 
friendship  for  Schaal  and  his  coadjutors.  The  able  and 
artful  Jesuit  was  commissioned  to  reform  the  calendar, 
and  he  accomplished  the  task  with  honor  to  himself  and 
prestige  to  the  cause  he  really  had  at  heart.  He  subse- 
quently received  the  appointment  of  President  of  the  As- 
tronomical Board,  with  the  title  and  authority  of  an  officer 
of  the  highest  grade.  It  is  said  that  the  youthful  Em- 
peror condescended  to  terms  of  familiar  intercourse  with 
him,  and  often  visited  him  at  his  own  residence.  During 
the  reign  of  this  monarch  the  missions  enjoyed  a  marked 
degree  of  prosperity,  their  greatest  success  being  in  Shen- 
si,  where  in  former  times  the  Nestorians  were  very  nu- 
merous. 

When  Kang-hi  came  to  the  throne  he  was  but  eighl 
years  old,  and  Schaal  became  his  tutor.  The  foreign 
teacher,  however,  was  not  long  allowed  to  enjoy  his  emi- 
nence.     A  distinguished    literary   man    published   a   book 


140  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

full  of  false  accusations  against  the  Romish  priests.  In- 
fluenced by  the  statements  thus  made  public,  the  four 
regents  pronounced  the  sentence  of  death  on  the  mission- 
aries, and  condemned  Schaal  "  to  be  cut  into  ten  thousand 
pieces."  But  these  servants  of  the  Pope  were  not  per- 
mitted to  receive  the  crown  of  martyrdom,  as  the  execu- 
tion was  delayed,  and  they  were  finally  set  at  liberty, 
although  Schaal  sank  under  his  reverses  and  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-eight.  Missionaries  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  were  arrested,  and  three  Dominicans,  one  Fran- 
ciscan and  twenty-one  Jesuits  were  banished  to  Canton, 
four  priests  only  being  allowed  in  Peking. 

At  fifteen  years  of  age  Kang-hi  assumed  the  reins 
of  government.  Ferdinand  Verbiest,  who  was  recognized 
as  the  natural  successor  of  Schaal,  and  had  been  reinstated 
in  his  office  in  the  Astronomical  Board,  presented  a  me- 
morial for  the  recall  of  his  banished  brethren.  The  peti- 
tion was  favorably  received,  and  the  priests  were  put 
in  possession  of  their  churches,  but  were  forbidden  to 
make  converts.  The  imperial  order  being  secretly  dis- 
regarded, no  less  than  twenty  thousand  neophytes  were 
baptized  during  the  first  year  of  the  restoration,  and 
the  Emperor's  maternal  uncle  was  soon  after  added  to 
the  number.  An  Arabian  astronomer,  who,  in  construct- 
ing the  Imperial  Almanac,  had  committed  the  egregious 
blunder  of  inserting  an  intercalary  month  in  the  cur- 
rent lunar  year  which  should  have  consisted  of  only 
twelve  lunations,  afforded  Pere  Verbiest  an  occasion 
for  proving  the  superiority  of  his  own  science.  He  also 
added  to  his  renown  by  publishing  a  book,  entitled  "  The 
Perpetual  Astronomy  of  the  Emperor  Kang-hi";  and  His 


ROMAN   CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  141 

Majesty  was  so  well  pleased  with  the  work  that  he 
made  the  author  an  officer  of  the  first  rank,  conferred 
on  him  the  title  of  Ta-jin,  or  "  Magnate,"  and  ennobled 
all  his  kindred.  Kang-hi,  in  a  famous  visit  to  the  prov- 
inces, on  several  occasions  showed  more  favor  to  the  Jes- 
uit missionaries  than  to  his  own  officers;  and  this  ex- 
ample of  the  court  was  followed  by  the  mandarins  in  all 
parts  of  the  empire.  The  smothered  feeling  of  hatred 
on  the  part  of  some  of  the  officials  would  occasionally 
burst  out  in  a  flame  of  persecution;  but  even  this  crit- 
ical state  of  affairs  had  a  happy  result,  as  it  gave  occa- 
sion for  the  Emperor's  proclamation  in  favor  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

These  were  "the  palmy  days  of  Roman  Catholicism 
in  China."  Several  propagandists  are  said  to  have  bap- 
tized one  thousand  or  one  thousand  five  hundred  per- 
sons annually,  and  in  the  single  province  of  Kiang-nan 
they  are  believed  to  have  numbered  at  one  time  one 
hundred  churches  and  one  hundred  thousand  converts. 
Jesuits,  Dominicans  and  Franciscans,  from  Italy,  France 
and  Spain,  flocked  to  the  land.  Louis  XIV  became  greatly 
interested  in  this  distant  province  of  the  Pope's  empire, 
and  appointed  the  sum  of  nine  thousand  two  hundred 
livres  as  a  pension  to  twenty  of  the  self-denying  mission- 
aries. The  Jesuits  were  fortunate  enough  to  cure  the 
Emperor  of  a  dangerous  fever,  who,  in  token  of  his  grati- 
tude, devoted  a  portion  of  ground  within  the  Imperial 
City  near  the  palace  to  sacred  purposes,  and  contributed 
largely  toward  the  erection  of  a  church.  Between  the 
years  1708  and  1718,  a  geographical  survey  of  the  em- 
pire was  accomplished  by  order  of  Kang-hi,  under  the 
direction   of  nine   Jesuits  employed  for   the  express   pur- 


142  TlIK    FOREIGNER   IN   CHINA. 

pose;  and  all  reliable  maps  of  China  are  founded  on  the 
results  of  this  remarkable  survey. 

The  great  success  of  the  Romanists,  in  the  reign  of 
one  of  the  most  celebi'ated  of  the  rulers  of  China,  might 
have  resulted  in  a  triumph  for  Catholicism  unsurpassed 
by  any  other  achievement  of  the  Propaganda,  but  for 
their  own  dissensions,  which  led  the  Pope  to  interfere, 
and  so  precipitated  a  conflict  between  His  Holiness  and 
the  Dragon  Throne.  These  disputes  related  mainly  to 
ancestral  worship  and  the  Chinese  term  for  God,  sub- 
jecting to  the  perils  of  debate  some  of  the  most  ancient 
and  honored  institutions  of  the  land,  besides  involving 
incidentally  questions  of  spiritual  and  temporal  suprem- 
acy. The  case,  according  to  competent  authority,  stood 
as  follows  :  "  Decree  of  Innocent  X,  in  1655,  condemning 
ancestral  worship  as  idolatrous  and  sinful;  decree  of  Al- 
exander VII,  1656,  approving  such  worship  as  being  but 
a  mere  civil  institution;  decree  of  Clement  XI,  in  1704, 
condemning  ancestral  worship;  answer  to  the  petitions  of 
Jesuits,  in  1700,  from  Kang-hi,  in  which  he  declared 
T'een  meant  the  true  God,  and  that  the  customs  of  China 
were  merely  political;  decree  of  the  Emperor,  1706,  de- 
claring that  he  would  countenance  only  those  missionaries 
who  allowed  ancestral  worship,  and  that  he  would  perse- 
cute those  who  followed  the  opposite  practice.'"  *  The 
Pope's  first  legate  to  Peking,  Tournon,  sent  out  in  1703, 
after  studying  the  situation  a  few  years,  issued  two  de- 
crees in  opposition  to  the  Emperor,  which  so  incensed 
His  Majesty  that  he  expelled  the  ecclesiastic  from  his 
capital.     About  this  time  he  also  banished  several  priests 

"The  Chinese  Recorder,"  May  1870  p.  342. 


ROMAN    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  143 

from  the  country,  and  allowed  a  severe  persecution  to 
rage  in  several  of  the  provinces. 

With  the  alienation  of  their  powerful  friend,  the  Em- 
peror, passed  away  the  glory  and  prosperity  of  the  Jesuits 
in  China.  When  Yung-ching  ascended  the  throne,  in  1723, 
remonstrances  and  petitions  from  the  officials  and  literati 
were  sent  in  great  numbers  to  Peking,  "  complaining  that 
Kang-hi  had  shown  the  foreign  teachers  too  much  favor, 
and  that  they  were  a  dangerous  class,  because  their  con- 
verts acknowledged  no  other  authority  than  the  priests." 
The  subject  was  referred  to  the  Board  of  Rites,  by  whose 
advice  the  Emperor  issued  a  decree  the  following  year, 
retaining  those  priests  already  near  the  throne  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  state,  but  banishing  all  others  to  Canton  and 
Macao.  Those  in  Peking  were  permitted  to  celebrate 
divine  worship,  but  were  restrained  from  prosebyting.  The 
sentence  against  the  other  missionaries  was  rigorously  ex- 
ecuted; and  many  of  their  churches  were  either  destroyed, 
changed  to  Boodhist  temples,  or  converted  to  other  uses, — 
leaving  more  than  three  hundred  thousand  converts  with- 
out adecpuate  pastoral  supervision  or  the  rites  of  the 
Church.  The  government,  however,  did  not  fully  accom- 
plish the  object  sought  in  this  persecution,  as  many  of  the 
priests  revisited  by  stealth  their  scattered  and  suffering 
flocks,  and  not  a  few  of  the  native  pastors  proved  them- 
selves worthy  of  the  trust  committed  to  their  hands. 

In  the  reign  of  Kien-lung  a  fresh  search  was  made  for 
foreign  priests,  when  churches  were  plundered  and  prop- 
erty confiscated;  and  Peter  Seng,  with  five  of  his  Domin- 
ican brethren,  in  Pooh-kien  province,  were  put  to  death, 
besides  other  agenl  of  the  Church  being  seized  ;i.nd  tor- 
tured.    In  1784,  four  missionaries,  detected  on  their  way 


1  I  1  THE    FOBEIGNEB    IX    (III  N  A. 

to  Shen-si,  were  sent  in  chains  to  Peking.  This  circum- 
stance arousing  the  native  suspicion  and  hatred,  another 
fierce  persecution  arose.  An  imperial  edict  was  issued 
against  the  Roman  Catholics,  every  effort  being  made  to 
apprehend  the  foreigners  wherever  concealed  in  any  part 
of  the  empire;  and  their  native  adherents  were  severely 
dealt  with.  Of  the  priests  sent  as  captives  to  Peking,  one 
died  of  hardship  on  the  way,  five  succumbed  under  ill 
treatment  after  arriving  at  their  destination,  and  twelve 
were  allowed  to  languish  in  prison.  A  number  of  native 
priests  and  assistants  who  had  accompanied  them  were 
branded  on  the  face  and  banished  to  Tartary  as  slaves  for 
life.  Amid  the  fiery  trials  through  which  they  were  called 
to  pass,  many  of  the  missionaries  exhibited  a  high  type  of 
courage  and  devotion,  as  in  the  instance  of  three  of  their 
number  who  generously  delivered  themselves  up  in  oi'der 
to  save  their  flocks  from  peril  and  distress  on  their  account; 
while  multitudes  of  native  Christians  throughout  the  em- 
pire remained  steadfast  amid  the  gathering  storm.  In  sub- 
secpient  periods  of  persecution,  a  number  of  priests  suffered 
martyrdom,  eminent  among  whom  was  Dufresse,  Bishop  of 
Sze-chuen,  who  was  beheaded.  The  above-named  province, 
considered  after  Peking  itself,  as  the  principal  theater 
of  Romish  influence,  witnessed  the  varying  fortunes  of 
missions  until  1824,  when  the  Sze-chuen  college  was  re- 
commenced; since  which  time  the  work  of  propagandise 
has  been  quietly  carried  on,  with  occasionally  some  inter- 
ference from  the  enemies  of  the  faith.  In  1833  there  was 
but  one  foreign  priest  in  the  capital,  and  after  his  death 
there  were  none  to  take  his  place  for  several  years. 

A  candid  observer  of  Catholicism  in  China  will  not  only 
admit  that  many  of  its  agents  displayed  a  zeal  and  heroism 


ROMAN    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  145 

deserving  of  the  highest  praise,  and  worthy  of  being  imi- 
tated by  their  Protestant  brethren  in  the  foreign  field,  but 
must  confess  that  without  doubt  multitudes  have  been 
brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Christianity  through 
their  labors.  Still,  the  truth  of  history  requires  the  state- 
ment that  it  has  been  too  much  the  policy  of  the  spiritual 
delegates  of  Rome  to  accommodate  themselves  to  Chinese 
idolatrous  practices.  It  is  said  that  Ricci,  who  must  be 
regarded  as  the  real  founder  of  Romish  missions  in  China, 
lived  for  seven  years  with  the  Boodhist  priests,  adopting 
their  peculiar  dress,  imitating  their  manners,  and  humor- 
ing their  prejudices.  According  to  one  author,  he  and 
Roger  sought  "to  conceal  their  real  intention,  recurring 
unblushingly  to  a  falsehood,  affirming  that  their  only 
wishes  were  to  make  themselves  masters  of  the  Chinese 
language,  and  to  become  acquainted  with  the  arts  and 
sciences  of  the  country."  *  He  is  charged  with  going  so 
far  as  to  disfigure  the  religion  of  Christ  "by  a  faithful 
mixture  of  pagan  superstitions,  adopting  the  sacrifices 
offered  to  Confucius  and  ancestors,  and  teaching  the  Chris- 
tians to  assist  and  cooperate  in  the  worship  of  idols,  pro- 
vided they  only  addressed  their  devotions  to  a  cross  covered 
with  flowers,  or  secretly  attached  to  one  of  the  candles 
which  were  lighted  in  the  temples  of  the  false  gods."  It  is 
but  just  to  say,  however,  that  he  so  far  compromised  the 
truth  of  Christianity  as  to  call  forth  protests  and  opposition 
in  his  own  Church.  As  evidence  of  the  fact  that  this  emi- 
nent Jesuit  continued  his  doubtful  practices  to  the  end,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  the  symbols  of  Boodhist  idolatry 
are   found   before   his  tomb    in    iho  oomotory   near    Poking. 

"Sir  Andrew  Ljnngstedt'a  "Macao,"  quoted  In   "Chinese   Repository," 
vol.  i,  p.  180, 

7 


146  THE   FOBEIGHEB    IX    CHINA. 

The  incense  urns,  candlesticks,  and  flower-jars,  cut  in  mar- 
ble and  arranged  in  the  order  followed  in  all  Boodhist 
temples,  show  a  willingness  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  to 
use  idolatrous  customs. 

We  are  told  that  the  first  monk  who  visited  the  Mon- 
gal  Tartar  court  "  was  rather  pleased  than  scandalized 
by  the  near  resemblance  of  the  rites  of  the  Chinese 
Boodhists  to  the  forms  of  Catholic  worship,"  although 
another  distinguished  Romanist  did  not  so  look  upon  the 
striking  similarity,  and  declared  that  the  Boodhist  reli- 
gion had  been  invented  by  the  Devil  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  bringing  a  reproach  upon  the  Mother  Church! 

It  is  true  that  the  successors  of  these  men  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  calling  pagan  images  idols  and  styling 
Romish  idols  images;  but  the  heathen  are  not  quick  to 
recognize  such  nice  distinctions;  nor  even  the  converts 
themselves,  we  may  suppose,  as  the  commandment  against 
idol  worship  has  been  thimst  out  of  the  decalogue  by 
their  foreign  teachers.  Messrs.  Gabet  and  Hue,  two 
French  priests  of  the  order  of  Lazarists,  while  on  a 
journey  to  Thibet,  had  a  molten  image  made  for  their 
own  adoration,  from  a  European  model,  which  was  not 
only  the  work  of  men's  but  pagan  hands,  and  was  made 
at  a  place  where  a  huge  image  of  Boodha  had  just  been 
cast  and  forwarded  to  Lhassa.  In  parts  of  the  country, 
at  stated  times  in  the  year,  Roman  Catholics  have  pro- 
cessions in  honor  of  the  Holy  Mother,  which  do  not  differ 
from  the  heathen  processions  in  any  respect  except  that 
an  image  of  the  Virgin  is  paraded  in  the  place  of  the 
usual  Chinese  idol.  As  may  be  inferred,  a  high  standard 
of  morality  and  religious  instruction  is  not  generally 
maintained    among    the  native  Christians.     The    word    of 


KOMAJST    CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  147 

God  does  not  have  free  circulation  among  them,  and 
they  do  not  keep  inviolate  the  Sabbath  day. 

The  knowledge  of  the  sciences  was  at  first  successfully 
employed,  as  we  have  seen,  in  securing  influence  among 
the  ruling  classes.  The  Jesuits  amused  the  court  with  a 
variety  of  philosophical  experiments  of  an  ingenious  na- 
ture; such  as  producing  artificial  rainbows  from  the  trans- 
mission of  the  rays  of  light  through  prisms,  with  their 
subsequent  reflection.  They  also  exhibited  the  uses  of  the 
telescope  and  the  microscope,  and  employed  with  great 
effect  a  camera  obscura,  by  means  of  which  every  ob- 
ject passing  outside  was  made  visible  on  a  table  within 
the  apartments  of  the  palace.  They  presented  to  Kang-hi 
the  first  clocks  and  watches  seen  in  China.  Pumps,  sy- 
phons and  fountains,  constructed  by  them  according  to 
the  most  recently  discovered  principles  of  hydrostatics 
and  hydraulics,  were  applied  to  purposes  of  use  and  orna- 
ment in  the  imperial  grounds.* 

After  Schaal,  who  obtained  such  distinguished  honors 
at  the  court  of  the  first  Manchoo  emperor,  succeeding 
missionaries  were  officially  employed  for  two  hundred 
years  to  assist  or  direct  in  observing  the  motions  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  and  in  constructing  the  calendar.  Two 
of  their  number  pleased  the  emperors  by  their  skill  in 
casting  cannon.  Verbiest  at  one  time  cast  three  hundred 
and  twenty  pieces,  and  then  blessed  his  work  in  a  solemn 
manner,  giving  the  name  of  a  saint  to  every  piece.  A 
set  of  very  fine  instruments  of  gray  bronze  made  by  liim 
while  president  of  the  Hoard  of  Works,  consisting  of  a 
celestial  globe,  a  sextant,  a  quadrant,  a  sun  dial,  etc.,  arc 
to  be  seen  to  this  day  in  the  Astronomical  Observatory 
•Davis'  "China and fce Chinese,"  vol.  11,278;  Bears' "China  and  India,"  p.  98. 


Ms  THE    FOREIGNEB    IN    CHINA. 

at  Peking,  and  among  them  may  be  noticed,  also,  a  large 
azimuth  instrument,  sent  as  a  present  to  Kang-hi  by  the 
King  of  France.  All  the  distinguished  Jesuits  were  best 
known  either  as  geographers,  mathematicians,  astrono- 
mers, inspectors  of  cannon,  political  negotiators,  or  artful 
diplomatists. 

Few  missions  in  pagan  lands  have  been  favored  with 
the  sympathy  of  the  rich  and  noble  so  much  as  the  early 
papal  missions  to  China,  or  have  enjoyed  to  a  greater  de- 
gree the  patronage  of  the  ruling  power.  Their  nominal 
success  was  no  doubt  at  one  time  very  great,  although  so 
soon  followed  by  a  period  of  dearth  and  pei'secution.  The 
perpetual  strife  among  the  priests  themselves  first  in- 
vited the  active  hostility  of  their  foes.  But  when  they 
began  to  assume  the  honors  and  the  functions  of  political 
power,  and  the  papal  assumption  proceeded  to  the  length 
of  a  public  invasion  of  imperial  sovereignty,  it  was  but 
natural  that  the  Empei'ors  should  denounce  them  as  dis- 
turbers of  the  peace  and  take  measures  to  drive  them 
out  of  the  country.  Sir  Rutherford  Alcock,  late  British 
minister  at  Peking,  in  a  work  on  Japan,  remarks:  "The 
determining  cause  of  the  downfall  and  the  destruction  of 
the  Roman  Church  in  Japan,  is  to  be  sought  in  the  pre- 
tensions to  a  spiritual  supremacy,  which  is  but  another 
name  for  the  monopoly  of  power,  since  all  that  is  political 
or  secular  must  bow  to  God's  vicegerent  on  earth,  who 
claims  the  right  to  bind  and  to  loosen,  to  absolve  subjects 
of  their  oath  and  fealty,  and  dethrone  kings  by  his  edict." 
A  similar  cause  in  China  produced  a  like  effect,  only  less 
destructive  in  its  havoc  among  the  Catholic  societies  and 
establishments. 

Although    the    Romanists    have    not    recovered    their 


ROMAN   CATHOLIC    MISSIONS.  149 

ancient  power,  it  must  not  be  thought  that  they  are  now 
either  inactive  or  unsuccessful.  According  to  recent  sta- 
tistics,— which  are  presumed  to  be  reasonably  accurate, — 
they  have  in  the  Celestial  Empire  forty  bishops,  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  foreign  and  five  hundred  native  priests, 
forty  sisters  of  charity  who  have  in  charge  thousands 
of  orphans,  sixty  colleges  with  learned  professors  and 
many  students,  and  five  hundred  thousand  communicants. 
They  have  two  great  churches  in  Peking,  one  of  which, 
the  French  cathedral,  is  an  imposing  structure  of  white 
marble,  and  adjoining  are  the  palatial  residence  of  the 
bishop  and  homes  of  the  priests.  At  Canton  a  cathedral 
has  been  for  many  years  in  process  of  erection  that  will, 
when  completed,  exceed  in  magnificence  any  sacred  struct- 
ure on  this  continent,  excepting,  perhaps,  the  grand  ca- 
thedral on  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York.  At  Kiu-kiang,  the 
holy  fathers  engage  in  the  tea  trade,  with  native  con- 
verts to  do  the  outside  business,  where  they  have  been 
known  to  reap  a  profit  in  one  year  of  ten  thousand  dol- 
lars. In  Shanghai,  the  Jesuit  fathei's  annually  receive 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars  through  the  Agra  Bank 
for  church  purposes;  and  one  of  their  number  controls 
two  million  dollars  for  the  Church.  Under  French  pro- 
tection they  have  regained  their  confiscated  estates,  have 
erected  cathedrals  and  multiplied  churches.  Their  bish- 
ops and  priests  assume  the  habits  and  authority  of  civil 
mandarins.  They  give  great  attention  to  schools  and 
orphan  asylums,  and  by  this  means  obtain  almost  abso- 
lute control  over  vast  numbers  of  children. 

The  government  of  France  affords  every  protection 
to  the  foreign  priests  in  their  work,  and  to  native  con- 
verts   in    the    exercise    of   their    religious    rights.      It    has 


150  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

been  said  that  the  power  of  all  the  Protestant  mission- 
aries combined  would  have  failed  in  the  attempt  to  erect 
a  church  surmounted  by  a  cross  overlooking  the  Empe- 
ror's palace;  and  yet  the  Romish  missionaries,  backed 
by  French  influence,  lately  succeeded  in  doing  this.  A 
French  consul  recently  went  to  the  length  of  calling 
Protestants  to  account  for  distributing  "  Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress," in  which  he  considered  his  religion  was  spoken  of 
disrespectfully. 

Certain  European  representatives  of  the  Pope  have 
thought  it  necessary  to  protest  against  Protestantism  in 
China,  and  accordingly  have  sought  to  impress  their  con- 
verts with  such  statements  as  that  the  faith  taught  by 
themselves  is  not  the  same  as  the  "American  religion"; 
that  the  religion  of  the  English  is  only  three  hundred 
years  old,  and  had  its  origin  in  the  fact  that  King  Henry 
VIII  was  not  allowed  by  the  papal  Father  to  divorce 
his  wife;  that  their  own  is  the  true  and  ancient  form 
of  Christianity;  and  that  salvation  is  only  to  be  found 
within  the  pale  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  old  antagonisms  existing  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe  are  destined  to  be  renewed  in  the  Far  East. 
Protestantism  must  speedily  occupy  that  field  with  a  well 
equipped  army  of  heroic  missionary  workers,  or  she  will 
soon  have  to  contend  at  a  great  disadvantage  with  the 
vast  forces  of  paganism  on  the  one  side,  and  a  legionary 
foe  of  kindred  blood  but  hostile  faith,  powerfully  en- 
trenched, on  the  other. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PROTECTANT  MISSIONS. 

r  I  ^HE  conversion  of  Robert  Morrison,  and  his  call  to  be 
-*-  a  laborer  in  distant  and  destitute  parts  of  tbe  world, 
were  simultaneous  events.  Tbe  spirit  of  God  found  him 
an  apprentice  in  the  humble  capacity  of  last  and  boot- 
tree  maker,  at  about  tbe  age  of  sixteen.  Yielding  to  di- 
vine impressions,  he  consecrated  himself  unto  the  Lord, 
and  his  prayer  was  "  tbat  God  would  station  him  in  that 
part  of  the  missionary  field  where  the  difficulties  were 
the  greatest,  and,  to  all  human  appearance,  the  most  in- 
surmountable." Although  remaining  in  his  father's  work- 
shop, he  at  once  began  his  studies  and  his  Christian  labors 
for  the  conversion  of  others.  He  toiled  with  his  hands 
twelve  hours  a  day,  often  with  the  Bible  open  before 
him.  The  very  next  day  after  his  apprenticeship  was 
completed  he  entered  at  Hoxton  Academy,  and  thence,  in 
due  course,  went  to  the  Theological  School  at  Gosport. 
In  February  1807,  just  after  completing  his  twenty-fifth 
year,  he  was  appointed  to  China  by  the  London  Missionary 
Society.  As  the  East  India  Company  refused  all  mis- 
sionaries passage  in  their  ships  either  to  China  or  to  In- 
dia, he  proceeded  by  way  of  New  York,  arriving  at  Macao 
in  September,  but  soon  took  up  his  residence  in  Canton. 
For  some  time  he  observed  a  quiet  and  unobtrusive  man- 
ner of  life,  occupying  a  room  in  one  of  the  American 
factories,  and  applying  himself  to  the  language  with  such 

151 


152  THE    FOBEIGNER   IN   CHINA. 

diligence  as  seriously  to  affect  his  health.  His  better 
judgment  impelling  him  to  a  more  public  and  social 
habit,  he  was  much  encouraged  by  restored  vigor  and 
newly-awakened  sympathy  among  the  foreign  residents. 

At  first  he  had  to  encounter  much  opposition  from  his 
own  countrymen.  The  well-known  policy  of  the  East 
India  Company,  the  gigantic  immoralities  perpetrated  in 
the  name  of  commerce  and  under  the  plea  of  necessity, 
the  public,  private  and  social  vices  which  seem  to  have 
spontaneous  and  natural  growth  in  every  isolated  Euro- 
pean community  where  the  restraints  of  home  and  re- 
ligion are  unknown,  were  influences  unfriendly  to  the 
work  of  a  Christian  missionary,  and  even  more  to  be 
dreaded  than  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  paganism. 
The  interdict  laid  upon  foreigners  going  into  the  interior, 
and  the  prejudice  and  hostility  existing  on  all  sides  among 
the  people,  arising  from  unhappy  conflicts  between  the 
local  mandarins  and  foreign  merchants,  as  also  between 
the  imperial  government  and  the  Jesuits,  rendered  im- 
politic, if  not  impossible,  any  direct  public  attempt  to  prop- 
agate Christianity. 

But  this  first  and  lone  representative  of  Protestant 
evangelism  in  the  Chinese  empire  fortunately  won  the 
friendship  of  Sir  George  T.  Staunton,  and  of  Mr.  Roberts, 
the  chief  of  the  British  factory  at  Canton.  The  latter 
advised  him  to  undertake  as  his  great  missionary  work  the 
translation  of  the  sacred  Scriptures  into  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage. His  linguistic  talents  were  soon  in  demand,  and 
in  1809  he  accepted  the  appointment  of  translator  under 
the  East  India  Company.  This  position  secured  him  offi- 
cial connection,  immunity  from  petty  persecutions,  and  a 
salary  sufficient  to  provide  for  his  family  and  enable  him 


PROTESTANT   MISSIONS.  153 

to  carry  on  his  studies  without  much  expense  to  the  So- 
ciety. The  entire  New  Testament  was  published  in  1814, 
about  half  of  it  having  been  translated  by  Morrison,  the 
remainder  being  a  revision  of  a  manuscript  which  he  had 
found  in  the  British  Museum.  He  also  undertook  the 
compilation  of  an  Anglo-Chinese  dictionary,  and  in  this 
important  enterprise  received  the  generous  support  of  the 
wealthy  corporation  whose  servant  he  was.  The  work 
was  completed  in  six  large  volumes  in  1823,  at  a  total 
expense  of  about  sixty  thousand  dollars,  and  it  has  been 
an  invaluable  aid  to  students  of  Chinese  literature,  alike 
indispensable  in  mercantile,  diplomatic  and  missionary 
circles. 

During  all  this  time  Mr.  Morrison  did  not  lose  sight 
of  his  mission  as  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  When  he  had 
acquired  a  moderate  command  of  the  spoken  language  he 
commenced  a  private  Sabbath  service,  which  was  attended 
by  his  domestics  and  a  few  other  natives.  Notwithstand- 
ing his  great  labors  in  translation  and  on  the  dictionary, 
he  found  leisure  for  the  writing  of  tracts,  as  also  for 
teaching  and  preaching,  although  the  little  band  of  hearers 
accustomed  to  assemble  in  his  apartments  never  expanded 
into  a  regular  public  congregation  during  his  lifetime. 
His  first  convert,  Tsai  Ako,  was  baptized  in  1814,  and 
maintained  a  consistent  Christian  character  until  his 
death  four  years  subseopuently.  He  rendered  a  valuable 
service  to  his  country  by  accompanying  Lord  Amherst  to 
Peking,  in  1816,  as  interpreter  to  the  embassy.  Eight 
years  later  he  visited  England,  whither  his  fame  as  a 
missionary  and  a  scholar  had  preceded  him,  and  was  hon- 
orably received  by  the  great  and  good  in  that  Christian 
land.     Before  he  had  taken  his  departure  from  China   be 


154  THE    FOB!  K.N  1.1;    in    CHINA. 

had  the  pleasure  of  ordaining  a  native  convert,  Liang  A- 
fah,  to  the  office  and  work  of  an  evangelist,  who  contin- 
ued faithful  in  his  religious  profession  and  in  his  love 
for  preaching  even  after  suffering  persecution  and  long 
banishment  from  his  native  land. 

During  the  time  which  elapsed  between  his  return  to 
China  and  his  death  Dr.  Morrison  was  abundant  in  laboi-s, 
giving  his  usual  attention  to  the  Sabbath  services,  and 
making  material  additions  to  his  already  long  list  of  pub- 
lished works.  He  died  in  1834,  having  spent  almost 
twenty-seven  years  in  China,  and  most  of  that  time  alone 
in  the  missionary  work.* 

Dr.  Milne,  a  co-laborer  and  intimate  friend,  observes, 
with  reference  to  his  peculiar  traits  of  character,  "  the 
patience  that  refuses  to  be  conquered,  the  diligence  that 
never  tires,  the  caution  that  always  trembles,  and  the 
studious  habit  that  spontaneously  seeks  retirement,  were 
best  adapted  for  the  first  Protestant  missionary  to  China." 
Realizing  that  the  work  of  elevating  and  evangelizing 
the  Chinese  empire  must  be  done  through  the  language 
of  that  people,  he  set  himself  to  the  task  of  providing 
adequate  text-books,  chief  of  all  the  Holy  Scriptures,  be- 
ing stimulated  by  the  reflection  that  the  results  of  his 
labors  would  be  preserved  in  the  living  speech  of  a  third 
part  of  the  human  race.  Any  attempt  to  imitate  the 
method  of  Ricci  would  have  proven  futile,  as  China  was 
a  sealed  country  when  Morrison  landed  on  its  shores,  and 
the  reaction  against  Romanism  had  closed  the  door  of 
opportunity  against  all  public  efforts  to  promulgate  a 
religion  which  had  been  placed  under  the  social  and  po- 

*  Williams'  "Middle  Kingdom. "  vol.  ii,  pp.  325-330;  "China  and  the  Gospel," 
by  Rev.  William  Muirhead,  pp.  131-2. 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS.  155 

litical  ban.  It  is  even  improbable  that  be  could  have 
lived  in  the  country  at  all  without  the  powerful  protec- 
tion of  the  East  India  Company,  who  could  not  well  dis- 
pense with  his  services.  His  last  letter  breathes  the  spirit 
of  one  who  had  well  nigh  accomplished  a  mission  to  which 
he  felt  divinely  called,  although  the  desire  of  his  heart 
was  as  yet  unrealized.  "  I  wait  patiently,1'  said  he,  "  the 
events  to  be  developed  in  the  course  of  Divine  Providence. 
The  Lord  reigneth.  If  the  kingdom  of  God  our  Savior 
prosper  in  China,  all  will  be  well;  other  matters  are  com- 
paratively of  small  importance."  But  he  was  permitted  to 
see  the  coming  day  of  China's  redemption  only  in  promise 
and  prophecy.  Scarcely  did  the  first  twilight  of  its  early 
dawn  greet  his  eager  gaze;  for,  after  all  his  toil  and 
faith  and  prayer,  but  three  or  four  converts  from  the 
masses  of  heathenism  around  him  could  be  gathered  to 
receive  his  dying  benediction. 

Six  years  after  Dr.  Morrison's  arrival  in  China  he  was 
joined  by  the  Rev.  William  Milne,  who  was  compelled  by 
the  Romish  clergy  to  quit  Macao  immediately,  but  found 
refuge  for  a  time  in  Canton.  Soon  after,  Mr.  Milne  took 
his  departure  for  the  Indian  Archipelago,  where  he  la- 
bored principally  among  the  Chinese  settlements.  Re- 
turning thence  he  attempted  to  resume  his  work  at  Can- 
ton and  vicinity,  but  found  it  very  difficult  to  carry  out 
his  purpose,  as  the  Company's  Committee  refused  to  coun- 
tenance him  in  any  way,  and  he  finally  embarked  for 
Malacca,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

In  1829  the  American  Churches  first  entei-ed  this  field 
by  sending  to  Canton  the  Revs.  E.  C.  Bridgman  and  David 
Abeel.  To  D.  W.  C.  Olyphant,  a  devout  and  wealthy  mer- 
chant of  New  York,  must  be  ascribed  the  honor  of  being 


156  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

the  father  of  the  mission.  The  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions  came  to  a  determination 
to  commence  their  labors  in  China  in  consequence  of  his 
offer  of  a  passage  and  a  home  in  that  country  for  a  year 
to  one  who  would  undertake  the  work.  And  not  only 
did  he  assume  responsibility  in  the  beginning  of  the  en- 
terprise, but  remained  its  faithful  and  munificent  friend 
to  the  end  of  his  life.  He  died  on  his  way  home  from 
his  fourth  visit  to  China,  and  was  buried  in  the  English 
cemetery  at  Cairo.  After  being  told  that  he  could  not 
recover,  he  said,  "  I  do  not  wish  to  live  for  the  sake  of 
worldly  riches  and  comforts,  but  for  the  sake  of  missions 
I  could  have  desired  to  remain  a  little  longer."  Such 
was  his  principle  for  thirty  years,  and  he  added  to  it  the 
force  of  consistent  practice.* 

The  first  missionary  efforts  north  of  Canton,  of  a  per- 
manent nature,  were  made  in  1840  by  Dr.  Lockhart  in 
the  establishment  of  a  hospital  at  Ting-hai.  But  the 
great  impetus  to  Protestant  evangelism  was  given  by 
the  treaty  of  1842,  when  the  five  ports  were  opened  to 
foreign  trade,  and  Hong-Kong  was  ceded  to  the  Queen 
as  British  territory.  Canton,  Amoy,  Foo-chow,  Ning-po, 
and  Shanghai  were  chosen  in  view  of  their  adaptation 
for  commercial  purposes,  but  they  also  proved  to  be  of 
special  interest  and  importance  in  a  missionary  point 
of  view.  These  centers  of  population  and  avenues  to  the 
interior  were  speedily  occupied  by  the  leading  societies 
of  England,  Germany,  and    America. 

The  list  of  missionary  workers  sent  out  prior  to  the 
year  1842  numbered  not  less  than  sixty,  including,  besides 
those  already  mentioned,  such  illustrious  names  as  Walter 

*  "  The  Life  of  Bridgman,"  edited  by  Eliza  J.  Gillett  Bridgman,  pp.  37,  189. 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS.  157 

H.  Medhurst,  Charles  Gutzlaff,  S.  Wells  Williams,  Stephen 
Johnson,  Peter  Parker,  William  Dean,  W.  J.  Boone,  John 
Stronach,  James  Legge,  James  C.  Hephurn,  and  others. 
Soon  after  his  return  to  this  country  from  China,  that 
distinguished  diplomate,  the  Hon.  Caleb  Cushing,  gave  to 
the  public,  through  the  Rev.  Septimus  Tustin,  chaplain 
to  the  United  States  Senate,  the  following  testimony  in 
favor  of  these  self-denying  laboi'ers  in  the  foreign  field 
and  the  cause  so  worthily  represented  by  them  :  "I 
have  great  pleasure  in  communicating  the  information 
desired  in  your  favor  of  the  15th  inst.  It  is  true  that 
in  the  late  negotiations  with  China,  the  most  important, 
not  to  say  indispensable,  service  was  derived  from  Ameri- 
can missionaries,  and  more  especially  from  Dr.  Bridg- 
man  and  Dr.  Parkei*.  They  possessed  the  rare  qualifica- 
tion of  understanding  the  Chinese  language,  which  en- 
abled them  to  act  as  interpreters  to  the  legation;  their 
intimate  knowledge  of  China  and  the  Chinese  made  them 
invaluable  as  advisers,  and  their  high  character  con- 
tributed to  give  weight  and  moral  strength  to  the  mis- 
sion; and  while  their  cooperation  with  me  was  thus  of 
eminent  utility  to  the  United  States,  it  will  prove,  I  trust, 
not  less  useful  to  the  general  cause  of  humanity  and  of 
religion  in  the  East.  But  the  particular  service  rendered 
by  the  American  missionaries  in  this  case,  is  but  one 
of  a  great  class  of  facts  appertaining  to  the  whole  body 
of  Christian  missionaries  in  China.  In  the  first  place, 
other  legations  to  China  have  been  equally  dependent 
on  the  Christian  missionaries  for  the  means  of  intercourse 
with  the  Chinese  government,  of  which  well-known  ex- 
amples occur  in  the  history  of  the  successive  British  em- 
bassies of  Lord  Macartney,  Lord  Amherst,  and  Sir  Henry 


158  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

Pottinger.  In  the  second  place,  the  great  bulk  of  the 
general  information  we  possess  in  regard  to  China,  and 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  primary  philological  information 
concerning  the  two  great  languages  of  the  Chinese  em- 
pire, namely  the  Chinese  and  the  Manchu,  are  derived 
through  the  missionaries,  both  Catholic  and  Protestant.'" 
Here  follows  a  long  list  of  philological  works  prepared 
by  different  missionaries,  which  we  omit,  and  proceed  to 
the  concluding  paragraph  of  Mr.  Cushing's  letter.  "  In 
thus  briefly  answering  your  inquiry  on  a  single  point 
in  the  history  of  Christian  missions,  namely,  their  inci- 
dental usefulness,  permit  me  to  add  that,  eminently  great 
as  this  their  incidental  utility  has  been,  it  is  but  a  small 
point,  comparatively,  among  the  great  and  good  deeds 
of  the  religious  missionaries  in  the  East.  There  is  not 
a  nobler  nor  a  more  deeply  interesting  chapter  than  this 
in  the  history  of  human  courage,  intellect,  self-sacrifice, 
greatness,  and  virtue;  and  it  remains  yet  to  be  written 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  the  subject,  and 
of  its  relations  to  civilization  and  government  as  well 
as  to  the  Christian  Church.'"* 

Although  but  few  of  the  missionaries  were  able  to  se- 
cure permanent  and  safe  residences  within  the  limits  of  the 
empire  during  a  period  of  thirty-five  years  after  the  arrival 
of  Dr.  Morrison,  they  neither  abandoned  their  enterprise 
nor  allowed  themselves  to  remain  idly  waiting.  A  number 
of  these  workers  had  lived  for  years  on  the  borders  outside, 
at  Macao,  Malacca,  and  Batavia,  bestowing  their  labors 
principally  among  emigrant  Chinese  in  the  countries  and 
islands  about  the  Straits  of  Sunda.  When  China  was 
thrown    open    they   were    prepared    to    enter   it    with    the 

*"Life  of  Bridgman,"  pp.  lol-134. 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS.  159 

advantage  of  a  previous  acquaintance  with  the  language 
and  the  character  of  the  people. 

In  184-1,  Dr.  Medhurst,  of  the  London  Society,  reached 
Shanghai,  bringing  from  the  mission  at  Georgetown  in  the 
island  of  Penang  a  well-equipped  printing  office  for  the 
manufacture  of  books  and  tracts.  This  was  an  important 
reinforcement  to  the  work  undertaken  at  Macao  and  Can- 
ton, a  number  of  years  previously,  by  the  Rev.  E.  C. 
Eridgman  and  S.  Wells  Williams,  of  the  American  Board. 
The  "Bruen  Press"  issued  the  first  number  of  the  Chinese 
Repositonj  in  1832,  published  by  Mr.  Bridgman,  who  con- 
tinued to  conduct  it  until  the  year  1851,  after  which  Dr. 
Williams  was  sole  editor  of  the  work  to  its  twentieth  vol- 
ume. The  magazine  was  issued  at  irregular  intervals,  as 
the  necessary  manuscript  could  be  furnished,  the  object 
being  to  "impart  information  concerning  China,  and  so  to 
arouse  an  interest  in  the  spiritual  and  social  welfare  of  her 
millions."''  This  publication  having  proven  of  great  value, 
both  as  to  direct  missionary  intelligence  and  in  the  field  of 
Oriental  scholarship,  similar  attempts  have  since  been 
made,  first  from  the  Foo-chow  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission 
Press  and  later  at  Shanghai. 

No  translation  of  the  Scriptures  has  ever  been  published 
in  China  by  the  Romanists;*  but  Protestant  missionaries 
have  from  the  first  regarded  the  giving  of  the  Bible  to  the 
millions  of  that  country  as  a  matter  of  high  importance. 
The  first  attempt  of  this  kind,  in  which  Morrison  was  aided 
toward  the  last  by  Milne,  was  attended  by  circumstances  of 
peculiar  difficulty  and  embarrassment.  The  East  India 
Company  did  but  little,  as  a  body,  for  the  encouragement 
of  Chinese  literature,  beyond  a  small  annual  grant  to  tlu 

*  Edkins'  "  Religious  <  '"hclitiun  of  the  (  linir-r,"  p,  ■<:',:,. 


160  Till;    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

Anglo-Chinese  College  at  Malacca,  and  the  printing  of 
Morrison's  dictionary;  and,  although  that  learned  mission- 
ary was  their  official  translator  for  twenty-five  years,  the 
Directors  not  only  never  contributed  one  penny  for  carry- 
ing on  his  work  of  translating  and  printing  the  Bible,  but 
set  themselves  against  all  such  efforts.*  The  difficulties 
thus  encountered,  together  with  the  imperfect  understand- 
ing of  certain  philological  questions,  had  conspired  to  pro- 
duce an  edition  of  the  Scriptures  which,  though  deserving 
of  very  great  commendation,  was  still  open  to  much  im- 
provement. As  the  missionaries  increased  in  numbers  and 
efficiency,  it  was  deemed  needful  that  a  revision  or  new 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  should  be  made.  A 
Committee  of  Delegates  was  appointed  for  this  purpose, 
representing  the  principal  English  and  American  Societies, 
consisting  of  the  Rev.  Drs.  Medhurst,  Bridgman  and  Boone, 
with  Messrs.  John  Stronach  and  Walter  Lowrie.  The  last 
named  lost  his  life  soon  after  at  the  hands  of  pirates  while 
on  his  way  to  Ningpo,  and  Bishop  Boone  was  prevented  by 
infirm  health  from  engaging  in  the  work  to  any  great 
extent.  The  Committee  began  its  labors  at  Shanghai  in 
the  summer  of  1847,  and  the  result  was  a  scholarly  pro- 
duction, clear  and  idiomatic  in  its  style,  and  deemed  by 
many  a  true  and  faithful  translation  into  the  Chinese 
language.  As  the  Delegates  were  thought  to  possess  pe- 
culiar qualifications  for  the  work,  it  was  resolved  to  com- 
mit to  them  the  task  of  translating  the  Old  Testament, 
the  Rev.  William  C.  Milne  being  added  to  their  number. 
The  year  1854  witnessed  the  completion  of  their  under- 
taking, in  the  presentation  to  the  native  Churches  of 
China   of   a   complete    standard   Bible   in  the  classic   lan- 

*  Williams'  "Middle  Kingdom,"  vol.  ii,  p.  465. 


PROTESTANT    MISSION'S.     '  161 

guage  of  their  own  country,  which  was  followed,  however, 
some  two  or  three  years  later,  by  a  revision  of  the  whole 
at  the  hands  of  Dr.  Bridgman  and  the  Rev.  M.  Simpson 
Culbertson.*  A  committee  was  engaged  for  six  years  on 
a  version  of  the  New  Testament  in  the  Mandarin  collo- 
quial language,  completing  their  task  in  1872.  The  Old 
Testament,  in  the  same  dialect,  was  translated  by  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Schereschewsky,  now  missionary  bishop  of  the 
American  Episcopal  Church,  and  published  in  1874.  This 
last  complete  version  of  the  Bible  into  the  Chinese  lan- 
guage, in  style,  idiom,  and  diffusiveness  of  expression,  ap- 
proaches the  spoken  language  of  North  and  Central  China 
more  nearly  than  the  Delegates'  Version,  and  is,  therefore, 
more  readily  understood  and  approved  by  the  common 
people.  Numerous  editions  have  been  issued,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  adapted  to  the  various  Southern  dialects. 

Missionaries  generally  have  given  much  attention  to 
the  distribution  of  the  Word  of  Life,  but  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  early  resolved  to  make  every  at- 
tempt to  circulate  it  far  and  wide  through  the  empire. 
Accoi'dingly,  in  1863,  the  services  of  Mr.  Alexander  Wylie, 
for  some  time  in  charge  of  the  printing  establishment  at 
Shanghai,  were  engaged  for  the  special  work  of  superin- 
tending the  circulation  of  the  Scriptures.  Since  then  that 
gentleman  has  traveled  niore  or  less  in  fourteen  of  the 
provinces,  having  two  Europeans  associated  with  him  as 
colporteurs.  The  National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland  has 
accomplished  much  in  the  same  direction;  its  agent,  the 
Rev.  Alexander  Williamson,  having  distinguished  himself 
by   his   extensive  jouimeys   in   Manchooria,  Mongolia,  and 

'Muirhead'e  "China  and  the  Gospel,"  pp.  140-144;  "'The  Bible,  in  china," 
by  A.  Wylio,  Enq.,  pp.  10-12. 

7* 


lt>2  THE   FOREIGNER    T\    CHINA. 

several  northern  provinces.  The  work  of  the  American 
Bible  Society  in  China,  under  the  general  superintendence 
of  the  Rev.  L.  H.  Gulick,  M.D.,  has  been  carried  on  from 
the  three  principal  centers, —  Peking,  Shanghai  and  Foo- 
chow, —  where  the  Scriptures  are  printed  and  kept  in  store 
by  the  mission  presses.  The  Sacred  Volume  has  thus  been 
scattered  in  the  most  thorough  and  systematic  manner, 
chiefly  by  sale  at  small  prices,  and  must  have  been  placed 
in  the  hands  of  a  vast  number  of  people.    • 

A  practical  method  in  the  art  of  printing,  combining 
both  rapid  and  neat  execution,  was  a  desideratum  at  an 
early  day  in  the  history  of  missions.  A  set  of  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand  Chinese  types  had  been  cut  in  wood 
at  Paris,  but  they  were  so  large  and  cumbrous  as  to  be 
of  little  service  in  ordinary  presswork.  Specimens  of 
movable  type  were  executed  by  private  firms  in  England 
from  time  to  time,  and  Mr.  Watts  completed  a  font  quite 
in  advance  of  an}rthing  of  the  kind  before  attempted.  But 
the  honor  of  completely  overcoming  the  initial  difficulties 
in  this  important  enterprise  was  reserved  for  Protestant 
missionaries  actually  in  the  field.  The  zeal  and  devoted- 
ness  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Dyer,  for  some  time  stationed  at 
Penang,  achieved  the  first  real  success.  By  a  combination 
of  native  labor  with  European  art,  he  succeeded  in  bring- 
ing out  a  font  of  unsurpassed  elegance,  and  at  a  practi- 
cable cost.  Since  then,  William  Gamble, —  who  in  1858 
became  superintendent  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  Press 
in  China, —  after  numerous  experiments  at  Shanghai,  suc- 
ceeded in  applying  electric  science  to  the  perfection  of 
the  art,  and  printing  by  movable  types  is  now  as  much 
a  matter  of  course  in  Chinese  as  in  any  European  lan- 
guage, not   only   in   the   mission   presses   at   Hong-Kong, 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS.  163 

Foo-chow,  Shanghai  and  Peking,  but  to  some  extent  in 
native  establishments,  where  the  advantage  of  this  method 
is  coming  to  be  understood  and  appreciated,  especially 
when  small  or  fine  print  is  desired.* 

The  first  agents  of  the  Propaganda  gave  much  atten- 
tion to  literature;  and  while  some  of  their  books  contain 
the  purest  Christian  truth,  others  teach  frivolous  super- 
stitions,—  illustrating  and  enforcing  celibacy,  the  cele- 
bration of  the  mass,  the  making  of  pilgrimages  to  holy 
places,  and  relating  miraculous  incidents  in  the  lives  of 
Chinese  saints.  From  data  within  our  reach,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  the  conclusion  that  the  modern  Romish  mission- 
aries write  but  few  new  works  on  secular  or  religious  sub- 
jects. They  content  themselves  with  the  use  of  the  old 
ones,  although  the  scientific  treatises  are  based  on  obso- 
lete theories,  such  as  the  Ptolemaic  system  of  the  uni- 
verse instead  of  the  Copernican,  and  the  "  four  elements " 
—  fire,  air,  earth,  and  water  —  hypothesis  in  natural  phi- 
losophy, no  change  being  made  in  any  of  their  text-books 
on  the  basis  of  recent  improvements  in  the  mathematical 
sciences.! 

Their  Protestant  brethren,  however,  largely  devote  their 
learning  and  enthusiasm  to  the  production  of  works  in 
almost  every  department  of  research,  from  the  tract  and 
school-primer  up  to  portly  volumes  for  the  library  of  the 
student  and  scholar.  A  large  proportion  of  this  literature 
will  compare  favorably  with  the  works  of  our  best  authors 
in  the  West,  no  inconsiderable  part  consisting  of  simple. 
translations  of  standard  English,   German   and  American 

*"Xotos  on  Chinese  Literature,"  by  A.  w'yiir.  in  tin-  preface,  "Publica- 
tions "f  Protestant  Missionaries,"  by  same  author,  in  preface. 

tEdkins'  "  Religious  Condition  of  the  Chinese,"  pp.  247-8. 


164  THE    FOREIGNEB    IN    CHINA. 

books,  competent  native  talent  generally  being  employed 
to  assist  in  giving  the  requisite  idiom  and  classic  finish. 
A  volume  issued  from  the  press  at  Shanghai,  in  1867, 
entitled  "  Memorials  of  Protestant  Missionaries,"  etc.,  gives 
a  list  of  their  publications  in  Chinese  to  the  number  of 
seven  hundred  and  forty-six,  including  one  hundred  and 
eighty-nine  in  the  various  dialects,  forty-eight  of  the  lat- 
ter being  Roman  and  eight  Phonetic.  A  great  majority 
of  these  works  are  placed  under  the  general  head  of 
Theology,  but  the  remainder  are  classified  as  Sacred  Biog- 
raphy, Catechism,  Prayers,  Hymns,  Miscellaneous,  Educa- 
tional and  Linguistic,  History,  Government,  Geography, 
Mathematics,  Astronomy,  Medicine,  Botany,  Physics,  Al- 
manacs, Serials,  etc.  To  these  might  have  been  added  a 
catalogue  of  works  for  the  German  and  English  speaking 
public,  embracing  a  wide  range  of  topics,  and  containing 
invaluable  contributions  to  the  fund  of  human  knowl- 
edge. Not  least  to  be  esteemed  are  some  of  the  transla- 
tions from  the  multitudinous  native  literature, — conspicu- 
ously Dr.  Legge's  "  Chinese  Classics,"  with  Prolegomena 
and  Commentary.  A  celebrated  American  divine  thus 
eloquently  expressed  his  appreciation  of  what  is  attempted 
and  may  yet  be  accomplished  in  China  by  missionary  au- 
thorship :  "  When  once  you  have  mastered  the  written 
language  you  command  a  common  medium  of  thought  for 
the  empire;  for  although,  from  the  diversity  of  the  local 
dialects,  the  people  of  different  provinces  cannot  under- 
stand each  other's  language,  they  can  each  other's  writing. 
In  this  respect  China  has  the  advantage  of  India,  where 
twenty-nine  languages  are  spoken.  No  other  language 
puts  a  man  in  communication  with  so  large  a  portion  of 
the  human  race.     Alexander  conquered  the  world,  but  he 


PROTESTANT   MISSIONS.  165 

could  not  communicate  with  it.  Rome  laid  her  belt  of 
a  thousand  miles  around  the  Mediterranean,  but  her  em- 
pire was  a  Babel.  England  puts  her  arms  around  the 
globe,  but  her  tongue  cannot  reach  a  hundred  million 
souls;  nor  can  the  French,  or  the  German,  or  the  Sclavic. 
The  Arabic  possibly  may,  but  the  Chinese  may  reach  hun- 
dreds of  millions.  Indeed,  the  human  race  may  not  very 
unequally  be  divided  into  two  portions:  1.  The  Chinese; 
2.  All  other  nations.  To  reach  the  latter  you  need  three 
thousand  and  sixtj^-three  languages  ;  to  reach  the  first, 
only  one.  Happy  the  genius  who  shall  write  parables  for 
the  heart  of  this  mass!  thrice  happy  he  who  shall  write 
songs  of  Zion  for  this  choir  of  three  or  four  hundred 
millions  of  human  tongues ! "  * 

In  a  country  where  learning  is  so  highly  esteemed  that 
the  ambitious  and  intelligent  of  all  classes  aspire  to  a 
knowledge  of  letters,  the  missionary  is  compelled  to  give 
early  attention  to  schools.  This  has  been  done  with  emi- 
nent success  at  the  treaty  ports  and  in  many  of  the  in- 
terior stations.  Thousands  of  children  and  youth  have 
thus  been  placed  under  Christian  instruction,  and  several 
theological  seminaries  are  serving  well  the  purpose  of 
their  founders. 

It  lias  been  asserted  that  "no  argument  from  miracles 
or  any  other  is  so  impressive  to  the  heathen  mind  as  the 
conduct,  the  life,  of  a  missionary  or  a  convert,  resulting 
from  the  power  of  the  Gospel  Spirit."  One  leading  ele- 
ment in  the  mysterious  influence  of  a  good  life  is  disin- 
terested benevolence.  Modern  medical  science,  as  applied 
by  the  missionary  physician,  is  to  the  heathen  not  only 
well-nigh  miraculous,  but  it  is  a  new  and  striking  reve- 
♦liishoij  Thomson,  before  the  A.  M.  B.  M.  Society,  in  1864. 


166  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

hition  of  beneficent  interest  in  their  welfare.  Dr.  Mor- 
rison took  the  lead  in  this  form  of  Christian  work  when, 
in  1820,  with  Dr.  Livingstone,  of  the  East  India  Company's 
factory,  he  opened  a  dispensary  at  Macao,  in  which  med- 
ical relief  was  afforded  to  many  persons.  A  few  years 
later  Dr.  Colledge,  also  connected  with  the  Company,  who 
was  supported  to  a  limited  extent  by  contributions  from 
the  foreign  community,  undertook  with  great  success  a 
similar  enterprise.  The  benevolent  doctor  received  letters 
from  many  of  his  patients  expressing  grateful  apprecia- 
tion of  the  aid  rendered  them.  From  among  these,  one 
poetical  effusion  has  been  preserved,  in  which  the  writer, 
who  had  been  healed  of  a  painful  disease  of  the  eyes,  re- 
turned thanks  in  true  Chinese  style,  as  follows: 

"He  lavishes  his  blessings,  but  seeks  for  no  return; 
Such  medicine,  such  physician,  since  Tsin,  were  never  known; 
The  medicine  —  how  many  kinds  most  excellent  has  he! 
The  surgeon's  knife  —  it  pierced  the  eye,  and  Spring  once  more 

I  see. 
If  Tung  has  not  been  born  again,  to  bless  the  present  age 
Then  sure,  'tis  Su  reanimate  again  upon  the  stage. 
Whenever  called  away  from  far,  to  see  your  native  land, 
A  living  monument  I'll  wait  upon  the  ocean's  strand." 

In  1835  Dr.  Parker  opened,  in  Canton,  a  hospital  for 
the  gratuitous  relief  and  cure  of  diseases  among  the  Chi- 
nese, since  which  time  the  best  professional  skill  has  been 
applied  in  this  form  of  missionary  work  at  nearly  all  the 
centers  of  foreign  influence,  conspicuously  at  Shanghai, 
Peking,  Han-kow,  and  Tien-tsin.  The  recent  opening  of 
the  London  Mission  hospital  in  the  last-named  city  must 
be  regarded  as  an  epochal  event.  Viceroy  Li  Hung-chang, 
who  had  contributed  four  thousand  taels,  about  six  thou- 
sand dollars,  toward  the   erection  and  equipment  of  the 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS.  167 

building,  presided  on  the  occasion,  attended  by  forty  high 
officials.  His  Excellency  was  escorted  to  a  raised  seat  in  the 
waiting  room,  where  he  sat  regarding  with  evident  compla- 
cency the  assembled  native  and  foreign  guests.  An  address 
was  read,  in  elegant  Chinese  style,  by  Dr.  Mackenzie's 
teacher,  to  which  the  Viceroy  replied  in  complimentary 
terms.  He  was  then  led  about  the  premises,  showing  by 
his  quick,  ready  glance  and  questions  how  deep  and  genuine 
was  his  interest  in  the  work  he  had  so  fully  inaugurated  in 
China.  Returning  to  his  seat  of  state,  he  listened  to  addresses 
from  the  Russian  and  British  consuls,  making  appropriate 
replies  to  them;  and  when  the  British  consul  expressed  the 
wish  and  hope  of  all  present  that  this  noble  benevolence 
might  add  greater  fame  to  the  Viceroy's  name  than  had 
ever  come  to  him  through  the  glory  and  the  consequent 
suffering  of  war,  he  said  he  had  done  what  he  had  done  as 
a  matter  of  personal  duty  to  the  multitudes  of  Tien-tsin 
and  Chih-li.  On  the  following  Sunday,  a  religious  meet- 
ing of  prayer  and  praise  fitly  ended  the  consecration  of 
the  hospital,  from  whose  dispensary  two  thousand  patients 
had  already  received  substantial  tokens  of  the  foreigner's 
healing  art. 

Foreign  lady  physicians,  although  but  recently  begin- 
ning their  work,  have  found  a  field  of  usefulness  rapidly 
opening  before  them.  They  have  been  called  in  repeated 
instances  to  attend  the  wives  of  Mandarins  and  to  go 
long  distances  into  the  country  to  visit  poor  women.  Miss 
Leonora  Howard,  M.D.,  located  at  Tien-tsin,  has  been  es- 
pecially fortunate  in  reaching  both  the  upper  and  lower 
classes  through  her  female  patients.  The  wife  of  Viceroy 
Li  is  chief  among  her  patrons,  and  she  has  free  access  to 
and  great  influence  over  many  ladies  of  high  rank. 


168  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

The  various  medical  missions  in  China  have  achieved 
gratifying  results,  and  are  permitted  constantly  to  repeat 
in  a  measure  the  "  miracles  of  healing"  with  which  Chris- 
tianity was  inaugurated.  In  the  language  of  Dr.  Will- 
iams, who  has  had  abundant  opportunity  to  observe  their 
workings,  "  the  experience  of  past  years  in  China  has  con- 
clusively shown  that  where  a  physician  and  a  preacher  join 
their  labors  in  a  missionary  hospital,  both  of  them  speak- 
ing the  language,  few  plans  are  better  adapted  for  remov- 
ing prejudice,  relieving  disease  and  pain,  otherwise  irreme- 
diable, collecting  audiences  well  fitted  for  patiently  hearing 
the  Gospel,  and  imparting  a  knowledge  of  its  great  truths 
to  people  rendered  somewhat  ready  to  lend  a  willing  ear 
by  a  sense  of  suffering  and  experience  of  the  unbought 
kindness  bestowed  upon  them." 

But  the  chief  reliance  in  the  work  of  evangelism  is 
the  oral  proclamation  of  the  Gospel, —  first,  by  the  for- 
eign missionary,  directly  to  the  people  without  the  aid 
of  interpreters;  and,  secondly,  by  native  preachers,  who 
have  been  providentially  raised  up  and  duly  qualified 
for  their  sacred  office.  Under  the  profound  conviction 
that  the  darkness  of  heathenism  has  no  power  of  its  own 
to  turn  itself  into  day,  and  that  it  can  only  be  dispelled 
by  the  light, —  finding  much  assurance,  not  only  in  the 
promise  which  accompanies  the  Great  Commission,  but 
in  the  fact  that  the  Gospel,  as  proclaimed  by  humble 
and  obscure  men,  achieved  its  first  victories  in  the  high 
places  of  Greek  and  Roman  civilization,  a  civilization 
conspicuous  for  the  wealth  of  its  culture  as  also  for  the 
wonders  of  its  corruption, —  the  Protestant  missionary 
goes  forth  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  which  shall  be  to 
all  people.     He  does  not  always  confine  himself  to  stated 


PROTESTANT   MISSIONS.  169 

places  and  times  of  worship;  but  in  populous  thorough- 
fares, in  public  tea-gardens,  in  the  area  of  some  frequented 
temple,  or  in  the  open  market-place,  he  takes  his  stand, 
and  by  earnest  speech  attracts  and  holds  the  attention 
of  the  multitude.  He  also  makes  extended  tours  into 
the  unknown  regions  beyond,  seeking  every  opportunity 
in  the  cities  and  villages  to  herald  his  message  of  salvation. 

In  the  more  advanced  stages  of  this  work  much  use 
is  made  of  public  chapels.  Many  of  these  are  open  daily; 
and  in  some  instances,  a  staff  of  preachers  maintain  the 
services  for  three  or  four  hours  at  a  time.  It  was  once 
estimated  that,  in  the  seven  stations  in  China  of  the  Lon- 
don Society,  together  with  their  chief  outposts,  the  num- 
ber of  separate  services  carried  on  amounted  to  not 
less  than  one  hundred  and  forty  a  week,  or  more  than 
seven  thousand  a  year;  while  the  sermons,  addresses, 
conversations,  and  discussions,  amounted  to  thrice  that 
number.*  The  regular  Sabbath  services  for  native  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  are  attended  by  orderly  and  atten- 
tive congregations;  and  the  foreign  missionary,  notwith- 
standing all  defects  of  manner,  idiom,  accent,  and  tone, 
is  usually  the  favorite   preacher. 

Otherwise  than  heretofore  in  India,  the  congregations 
in  China  contain  people  of  all  classes.  It  is  no  disgrace 
for  a  literary  gentleman,  or  a  man  of  wealth  or  official 
title,  to  be  seen  listening  to  a  Christian  teacher.  As  to  the 
method  of  discourse  to  heathen  audiences,  the  more  expe- 
rienced missionaries  seek  some  adaptation  to  the  circum- 
stances and  capacity  of  their  hearers.  The  address  of  St. 
Paul  to  the  Athenians  furnishes  them  an  excellent  model, 
which,  intentionally  or  not,  they  often  imitate  with  much 

*  Dr.  Mullen's  Report  for  18WJ. 

8 


17H  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

effect, —  dwelling  upon  the  first  principles  of  natural  reli- 
gion in  opposition  to  their  atheism  and  idolatry,  and  find- 
ing sometimes  a  decided  advantage  in  cpiotations  from  the 
native  classics.  But  attacks  upon  idolatry  and  superstition 
are  usually  received  with  good  humor  and  careless  assent. 
The  hearer  may  even  enjoy  the  destruction  of  popular 
fallacies,  as  he  has  never  had  any  hearty  faith  in  them. 
Custom  is  mightier  with  him  than  logic,  and  he  does  not 
recognize  so  much  the  sinfulness  as  the  absurdity  of  preva- 
lent notions.  It  is  necessary  to  put  forth  moral  appeals; 
to  speak  of  duty,  and  purity,  arid  love;  to  proclaim  more 
distinctly  the  supreme  Lord  of  the  universe,  the  true 
object  of  worship,  who  is  not  only  the  Father  and  the 
Benefactor  of  all,  but  who,  in  his  wise  and  holy  sover- 
eignty, has  appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness.  This  may  be  received  by  the 
listener  with  uneasy  attention  and  in  doubtful  mood,  but 
still  without  any  inelination  to  dispute.  But  when  the 
preacher  begins  to  proclaim  the  more  peculiar  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  he  does  not  always  carry  along  with  him 
the  audience  as  before.  The  offense  of  the  cross  has  not 
ceased.  Some  will  hold  both  the  messenger  and  his  mes- 
sage in  contempt;  others  will  treat  the  subject  with  indif- 
ference and  unconcern;  while  there  are  those  who  have 
had  their  interest  awakened,  and  their  attention  directed 
savingly  to  eternal  things. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

HINDRANCES  TO  EVANGELISM. 

THE  difficulties  attending  missionary  work  in  China 
are  numerous  and  extraordinary.  We  shall  not  at- 
tempt to  enumerate  them  all,  as  the  scope  of  this  vol- 
ume will  admit  only  a  brief  mention  of  such  as  may  be 
most  readily  understood  by  the  reader. 

I.  One  of  the  most  serious  lies  in  the  nature  of  the 
language.  The  foreign  teacher  and  preacher  are  con- 
fronted on  their  arrival  in  that  country  with  the  fact 
that  there  are  practically  two  languages  to  be  accpuired, 
and  that  each  of  these  is  probably  more  difficult  of  ac- 
quisition than  any  other  form  of  speech  on  earth. 

The  written  or  classic  language  is  not  a  representa- 
tion on  paper  of  the  sounds  uttered  in  the  dialect,  but 
is  entirely  distinct  from  it.  In  order  to  read  and  under- 
stand books  on  common  topics,  it  is  necessary  to  be  ac- 
quainted with  a  large  number  of  arbitrary  characters, — 
certainly  not  less  than  four  thousand,  while  any  just 
claim  to  scholarship  must  imply  familiarity  with  eight 
or  ten  thousand.  The  standard  native  dictionary  defines 
about  forty  thousand.  The  labor  of  committing  to  mem- 
ory even  the  smallest  number  mentioned  is  very  great. 
Nothing  in  the  character  itself  fixes  its  pronunciation, 
and  the  sound  must  therefore  be  learned  from  the  liv- 
ing teacher.  Many  different  characters  are  pronounced 
alike;  and  this  singular  difficulty   is  increased  by  the  fact 

171 


172  THE    FOREIGNER   IN   CHINA. 

that,  while  each  symbol  has  its  peculiar  tone  when  by 
itself,  the  several  tones  often  modify  and  revert  in  com- 
bination. The  spoken  language,  although  essentially  mono- 
syllabic, is  so  characterized  by  tones  and  inflections, 
with  aspirated  and  guttural  modulations,  that  the  av- 
erage adult  foreigner  finds  close  application  and  great 
industry  indispensable  to  correct  and  idiomatic  speech. 
The  numerous  dialects  of  the  empire,  moreover,  serve 
more  or  less  as  lines  of  limitation  to  the  itinerant  preacher. 
The  missionary  frequently  experiences  much  embar- 
rassment in  the  effort  to  communicate  evangelical  and 
spiritual  truths  in  a  tongue  somewhat  barren  of  words 
and  phrases  adapted  to  convey  such  sentiments.  Some 
forms  of  thought  possessing  peculiar  attraction  and  beauty 
to  the  cultivated  Christian  mind  will  lose  all  their  sig- 
nificance when  put  in  Chinese  dress  ;  although  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  the  Scriptures  are  susceptible  of 
more  accurate  translation  than  any  other  book  has  been 
found  to  be,  and  that  the  surprised  student  will  discover, 
now  and  then,  a  new  and  happy  meaning  attaching  itself 
to  some  familiar  passage  as  he  reads  it  in  these  pagan 
symbols.  A  peculiar  bias  of  culture,  or  differing  theo- 
logical views,  doubtless,  has  had  something  to  do  with 
the  diversity  of  theory  and  practice  found  among  Prot- 
estant missionaries  in  regard  to  the  Chinese  terms  to  de- 
note God  and  Holy  Spirit.  Although  little  is  said  by 
way  of  controversy  on  this  subject,  and  the  odium  theolo- 
gicum  is  a  thing  unknown  in  the  Protestantism  of  China, 
it  cannot  be  reasonably  doubted  that  the  different  words, 
in  the  literature  and  the  preaching,  used  to  signify  the 
first  and  third  Persons  in  the  Trinity,  have  done  much  to 
confuse  the  native  mind. 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  173 

II.  Another  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  Christianity  among 
the  Chinese  is  their  national  vanity.  The  term  by  which 
they  most  frequently  designate  their  country  is  Chung 
Kwo,  or  "  Middle  Kingdom."  It  is  used  from  a  popular 
idea  that  China  is  situated  in  the  center  of  the  globe; 
and  accordingly,  in  native  maps,  the  empire  is  pictured 
as  a  great  continent,  while  the  various  other  countries 
are  made  to  occupy  insignificant  positions  on  the  sides  of 
the  earth.  They  suppose  that  they  possess  the  highest 
type  of  enlightenment  and  civilization, —  that  they  are 
the  imperial  race  among  the  tribes  of  men.  Their  Em- 
peror is  called  "  the  Son  of  Heaven,"  because  he  is  sent 
by  the  Great  Supreme  to  rule  over  all  nations:  their 
capital  is  designated  as  the  "  Seat  of  Universal  Goodness," 
for  the  reason  that  the  most  x*efined  and  purifying  in- 
fluences are  supposed  to  proceed  from  it  in  the  form  of 
laws,  maxims,  customs,  and  ceremonies.  They  imagine 
that  their  soil  produces  the  richest  and  the  greatest  vari- 
ety of  grains,  fruits,  and  vegetables;  that  the  sun  shines 
upon  their  favored  land  with  a  peculiar  glory,  and  the 
moon  beams  forth  with  bright  and  benignant  rays  unknown 
in  any  other  clime;  and  that  Heaven  has  bestowed  upon 
them  the  wisest  of  sages  and  philosophers,  as  well  as  the 
most  illustrious  of  kings  and  emperors.  They  also  be- 
lieve that  their  gods  are  the  most  powerful  of  all  the 
deities,  and  that  their  religion  is  the  most  ancient, —  there- 
fore, being  nearest  the  source  of  all  things,  is  the  purest 
and  the  best.  Taught  these  ideas  by  all  that  is  sacred  in 
religion  and  by  all  that  is  venerable  in  classic  lore,  they 
are  not  prepared  to  accept  at  once  the  instructions  of  a 
foreign  teacher,  since  that  would  imply  tbat  they  were 
inferior  to  the  hitherto  almost  unknown  nations  of  the  West. 


174  Till)    POBEIGNEB    IN    CHINA. 

The  probable  influence  of  our  modern  civilization  on 
China  has  been  greatly  overrated.  A  distinguished  British 
consul,  commenting  on  the  character  of  the  ruling  and  in- 
fluential classes,  gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  "  returning 
emigrants  fall  back  instinctively  into  their  native  notions 
and  conceits,  looking  back  upon  their  foreign  sojourn  as  an 
ordeal  happily  over."  The  same  writer  submits  the  fol- 
lowing interesting  leaf  from  the  volume  of  his  experience. 

"  Even  men  of  some  pretense  to  social  position,  who  have 
of  late  years  visited  the  West  in  a  cp^asi-diplomatic  capacity, 
have  shown  no  sign  of  having  been  impressed  by  what  they 
have  observed,  or  moved  to  introduce  like  innovations  and 
advantages  into  their  own  country.  Chung  How,  the  only 
really  high-class  mandarin  who  has  visited  Europe,  dis- 
appointed me  keenly  when  I  was  conversing  with  him  last 
August,  by  exhibiting  the  most  listless  indifference  to  my 
suggestions  as  to  the  vast  collection  of  novel  and  interest- 
ing sights  which  it  would  be  well  for  him  to  see  whilst  in 
this  country.  I  happened  to  attend  him  at  Shanghai  when 
he  embarked  for  the  first  time  on  board  of  one  of  the  finest 
vessels  of  the  French  Messageries  fleet,  and  took  possession 
of  his  cabin  for  the  voyage.  The  next  time  when  I  met 
him  was  in  his  handsome  room  at  the  Grosvenor  Hotel  a 
day  or  two  after  his  arrival.  Yet  on  both  occasions  he 
took  as  little  heed  of  his  novel  surroundings  as  he  would 
have  done  when  stepping  on  board  of  one  of  his  own 
wretched  Chinese  junks,  or  walking  into  one  of  his  still 
more  primitive  native  hotels.  To  my  mind  there  must  be 
something  more  in  this  than  an  affected  indifference  arising 
out  of  simple  conceit.  It  must  be  the  result  of  an  inborn 
incapacity  in  the  untutored  Chinese  mind  to  entertain  any 
subject  save  by  the  particular  process  of   thought,  or  in 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  175 

connection  with  the  particular  association  to  which  it  has 
been  schooled  by  custom  and  tradition."* 

Whatever  may  be  the  correct  theory  as  to  Chinese  im- 
mobility when  brought  in  contact  with  our  most  brilliant 
inventions,  it  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  native  passengers 
and  shippers  in  foreign  vessels  seldom  betray  a  single 
emotion  of  admiration  or  wonder  on  account  of  science, 
labor,  or  means  expended  in  the  construction  of  the  vessels 
in  which  they  or  their  goods  are  being  conveyed,  although 
most  of  these  now  plying  on  the  Yang-tsz-Kiang  are  among 
the  largest  and  finest  river  steamers  that  Americans  can 
build.  It  is  clearly  not  the  case  that  the  Chinese  are 
destined  to  accept  our  Gospel  because  they  admire  our 
Science. 

III.  Another  great  impediment  to  the  rapid  evangeliza- 
tion of  this  peculiar  people  is  the  universal  ignorance. 
Skillful  advantage  is  taken  of  this  by  the  literary  and 
official  classes  to  create  popular  prejudice  against  the  new 
religion. 

Some  few  years  ago  a  Chinese  pamphlet,  entitled  "A 
Death-blow  to  Corrupt  Doctrines,"  came  to  light,  which 
proved  to  be  a  subtle  and  most  powerful  attack  on  for- 
eigners and  the  Christianity  which  is  inseparable  from  them. 
The  book  opens  with  an  extract  from  the  "Sacred  Edict" 
suppressing  strange  religions,  thus  artfully  giving  the 
whole  work  the  stamp  of  official  authority.  Following 
this  is  what  purports  to  be  a  collection  of  facts  respect- 
ing Roman  Catholicism,  which  contains  some  grains  of 
truth  but  intermingled  with  the  vilest  falsehoods  and  al- 
most  unspeakable    blasphemies.      The    indulgence   of    the 

*"Thc  Foreigner  in  Far  Cathay,"  i>y  \v.  ll.  Medhnrot,  II.B.M.  Consul, 
pp.  177-179. 


17<>  THE    FOBEIGNEB    IN    CHINA. 

basest  passions  is  described  as  the  chief  characteristic  of 
all  connected  with  the  Christian  religion.  An  accusation 
currently  reported  and  believed  among  the  people  is 
stated  as  follows:  "At  death  both  eyes  are  secretly  taken 
out  and  the  orifices  sealed  up  with  a  plaster.  The  rea- 
son for  extracting  the  eyes  is  this:  From  one  hundred 
pounds -of  Chinese  lead  can  be  extracted  eight  pounds  of 
silver,  and  the  remaining  ninety-two  pounds  of  lead  can 
be  sold  at  the  original  cost ;  but  the  only  way  to  obtain 
this  silver  is  by  compounding  the  eyes  of  Chinamen.  The 
eyes  of  foreigners  are  of  no  use  for  this  purpose;  hence 
they  do  not  take  out  those  of  their  own  people,  but  only 
those  of  the  Chinese."  The  second  part  consists  of  mis- 
cellaneous cpiotations  selected  from  Chinese  books  of  his- 
tory, travel,  etc.  From  the  "  Mirror  of  the  West "  an 
extract  is  thus  cpioted:  "In  England  they  have  the  art 
of  cutting  out  paper  men  and  horses,  and,  by  burning 
charms  and  repeating  incantations,  transforming  them 
into  real  men  and  horses.  These  they  use  to  terrify 
their  enemies.  They  may,  however,  be  dissolved  by  beat- 
ing a  gong,  or  by  spouting  water  over  them."  Another 
work,  "  Records  by  the  Far-travelled  Sight-Seer,"  fur- 
nishes this  item :  "  The  people  of  France,  without  excep- 
tion, follow  the  false  and  corrupt  T'een-choo  religion. 
They  have  also  devilish  arts  by  which  they  transform 
men  into  beasts,  so  that  those  who  see  them  cannot  dis- 
cern the  difference.  They  continually  go  to  the  various 
seaports,  and  other  places,  and  kidnap  the  people  of  the 
Flowery  Land,  and  carry  them  to  their  own  country  for 
slaves."  After  an  ingenious  and  able  misrepresentation 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  comes  an  eloquent  peti- 
tion  from   Ho-nan   province   for   the   "  Expulsion   of    the 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  177 

Non-Human  Species."  Notwithstanding  its  great  length, 
we  venture  to  transcribe  this  paper  as  a  graphic  picture, 
not  only  of  the  ignorance  and  prejudice  respecting  for- 
eigners widely  entertained  in  China,  but  also  of  the  na- 
tive method  of  reasoning  on  the  claims  of  Christianity, 
omitting  only  a  few  sentences,  which,  if  inserted,  would 
by  their  vulgarity  soil  our  pages. 

"  Alas !  depraved  discourses  are  daily  gaining  ground, 
and  right  principles  are  gradually  on  the  wane;  strange 
doctrines  are  perversely  advancing,  and  the  minds  of  men 
are  all  in  agitation. 

"  As  to  these  insubordinate  English  who  live  on  a  con- 
temptible mud-bank  in  the  ocean,  and  are  ruled  sometimes 
by  a  female  and  sometimes  by  a  male,  their  specific  chax*- 
acter  is  half  human,  half  beast,  described  in  the  Silurian 
records  as  the  'naked  reptile,'  and  termed  in  China  te-jin* 
Under  the  Ming  government  they  made  little  progress. 
In  the  period  Seuen-tih,  Matthew  Ricci,  Jules  Aleni,  and 
others,  first  introduced  their  national  religion  of  '  Jesus 
the  Lord  of  Heaven,'  misleading  the  people.  At  that  tima 
there  were  some  men  of  intelligence  who  secretly  con- 
nived at  their  proceedings,  till  the  Emperor  being'  memo- 
rialized to  expel  the  intruders,  they  were  forced  to  return 
to  their  own  countries. 

"  Our  dynasty,  carrying  to  the  extreme  its  benevolence 
toward  men  from  afar,  permitted  them  to  open  a  trade 
at  Canton  in  1775.  Now,  our  sacred  sovereign  enter- 
tained no  thoughts  beyond  that,  nor  did  he  look  for  any 
advantage  from  them.  Who  could  have  imagined  the  un- 
fathomable character  of  their  wolfish  hearts?  The  chasm 
of  their  covetous  nature  is  difficult  to  fill  :  Uk'v  p.i \-  no 
*A  kind  of  IckthyantrophoB,  a  monstrosity  <>f  the  Silurian  tribe. 


17S  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

regard  to  superabounding,  all-enduring,  favors,  but  on  the 
contrary  give  free  course  to  their  wild  and  insane  imagi- 
nations. 

"  Those  who  have  come  to  propagate  religion,  enticing 
and  deluding  the  ignorant  masses,  print  and  circulate 
depraved  compositions;  daring  by  their  deceptive  extrava- 
gancies to  set  loose  the  established  bonds  of  society,  utterly 
regardless  of  all  modesty.  At  first,  when  they  feared  that 
people  would  attack  them,  they  disseminated  their  prin- 
ciples in  private;  but  now  in  every  place  they  are  hold- 
ing forth  their  inducements,  deliberately  practicing  their 
perversions  in  open  day;  trouble  and  disturbance  pervade 
all  quarters,  and  the  feelings  of  the  people  are  in  inces- 
sant commotion.  When  the  conflagration  has  commenced, 
where  will  the  calamity  end?  If  the  young  serpent  is  not 
crushed,  what  can  be  done  with  the  full-grown  reptile? 
Why  hesitate  or  delay  in  crushing  it  to  death?  We  here 
point  out  some  of  the  reprobate  principles  of  these  people. 

"First. — Heaven  is  one  and  undivided,  ruled  over  by 
Shang-te,  a  name  which  they  have  changed  to  T'een-choo 
(Lord  of  Heaven),  of  whom  they  make  Jesus  the  impersona- 
tion. If  we  examine  into  the  history  of  Jesus,  we  find  he 
was  born  in  the  second  year  of  Yuen-show,  during  the 
reign  of  Emperor  Gae,  of  the  Han  dynasty.  But  previous 
to  Yuen-show  was  heaven  really  a  vacant  throne  awaiting 
an  occupant,  or  was  it  ruled  over  by  some  other  person, 
like  the  successive  generation  of  the  Six  Dynasties? 

"Second. —  Since  Jesus  is  the  Lord  of  heaven,  his  in- 
scrutable holiness  ought  to  surpass  the  conceptions  of  men; 
but  if  we  examine  what  is  said  of  him,  we  find  he  had 
merely  the  power  of  healing  disease.  Now,  if  the  power 
of  healing  disease  constitutes  a  holy  man  (or  sage),  then 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  179 

Peen-tseo,  Hwa-tow,  and  others  who  could  restore  the  dead 
to  life,  were  all  holy  men.  Furthermore,  this  world  is 
very  large;  but  how  many  can  Jesus,  an  individual  man, 
save? 

"Third. — Those  who  are  produced  by  Heaven  will  cer- 
tainly be  protected  by  Heaven.  But  Jesus  was  little  more 
than  thirty  years  in  the  world  when  he  was  crucified  by 
the  king  Pa- tow.  He  was  unable  to  preserve  his  body; 
and  to  say  that  his  spirit  can  impart  happiness,  it  does  not 
require  much  intelligence  to  see  the  absurdity. 

"Fourth. — What  is  still  more  ridiculous,  he  was  betrayed 
to  death  by  his  disciple  Kwan  Yin-paou,  a  deed  surpassing 
in  atrocity  that  of  Fung-ming,  who  shot  (his  teacher)  E; 
for  Kwan  Yin-paou  killed  his  master  simply  because  he 
coveted  the  king's  seventy  odd  pieces  of  silver.  Jesus  did 
not  know  his  own  disciple;  and  who  will  believe  that  he 
can  know  whether  other  people  are  good  or  bad? 

"Fifth. — Although  the  adherents  of  the  religion  only 
worship  Jesus,  yet  being  divided  into  the  two  sections  of 
Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants,  these  are  continually 
railing  at  each  other,  so  that  we  have  no  means  of  deter- 
mining which  is  right  and  which  is  wrong. 

"Sixth. — According  to  that  religion,  all  kinds  of  sin  are 
pardoned  by  the  Lord  of  Heaven,  and  all  who  join  their 
communion  enter  heaven's  hall.  To  say  nothing  about 
whether  any  one  has  seen  a  hall  in  the  expanse  of  the 
azure  heavens,  admitted  that  there  is  such  a  place,  and  that 
the  good  and  the  vicious  alike  enter  there,  is  it  likely  that 
God  (Shang-te)  is  thus  excessively  impartial  in  the  bestow- 
ment  of  his  favor? 

"Seventh. — In  Japan  they  have  cast  an  image  of  Jesus 
which  is  placed  between  the  landing-place  and  the  public 


!si»  THE    FOREIGNER   IN    CHINA. 

thoroughfare,  to  be  kicked  and  defiled  by  those  who  pass 
by.  As  he  affirmed  that  he  had  angels  at  his  command, 
how  does  he  voluntarily  submit  to  these  insults  in  silence 
without  some  miraculous  utterance?  His  divine  efficacy  is 
not  equal  even  to  that  of  the  most  insignificant  plants; 
where  then  is  the  propriety  of  calling  him  the  Lord  of 
Heaven? 

"But  the  injurious  character  of  their  pernicious  princi- 
ples cannot  be  thoroughly  exhausted.  They  do  not  dress 
the  tombs,  nor  worship  the  parental  tablet,  thus  ignoring 
their  ancestors.  Their  father  they  address  as  'venerable 
elder  brother,'  and  their  mother  as  '  venerable  elder  sister,' 
thus  ignoring  the  parental  relation.  Daughters  in  a  family 
are  not  given  in  marriage,  but  retained  for  the  disposition 
of  the  Bishop,  thus  ignoring  the  matrimonial  relation. 
They  have  no  distinction  of  rich  and  poor;  but  those  who 
join  their  communion  give  up  their  monej',  indicating  an 
utter  absence  of  modesty.  They  do  not  observe  the  dis- 
tinction of  male  and  female,  but  all  bathe  in  common,  thus 
betraying  an  utter  want  of  shame. 

"  They  cut  out  the  heart  and  scoop  out  the  eyes  (of  the 
dead),  using  the  remainder  of  the  carcass  as  medicine  for 
cattle.  .  .  .  They  administer  the  stupefying  decoc- 
tion of  ansesthetic  juice  to  stultify  the  mind  and  confuse 
the  thoughts.  The  chief  in  authority  are  white  demons; 
those  who  officiate  are  black  gentlemen;  and  whatever 
they  do  is  of  the  most  binding  obligation.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  great  Yu,  Prince  T'ang,  Wan- Wang,  and  Woo- 
Wang,  they  characterize  as  devils.  Hence,  formerly  when 
this  religion  was  introduced  into  Africa,  they  put  the 
Africans  to  death;  when  it  was  introduced  into  India 
they  annexed  India  to  their   empire;  when  it  was   intro- 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  181 

duced  into  Japan  they  were  the  cause  of  rebellion  in 
Japan. 

"  The  wealth  of  our  central  flowery  land  is  a  hundred 
thousand  times  that  of  the  barbarians,  and  their  hearts 
have  long  been  yearning  after  it,  so  that  their  present 
attitude  resembles  the  aim  of  Sze  Ma-shaou,*  as  the 
mere  traveler  may  understand.  If  a  speedy  precaution 
is  not  taken  to  drive  them  out,  we  shall  find  some  day 
our  ancient  civilization  of  several  thousand  years'  stand- 
ing, supplanted  by  the  semi-canine  customs  of  the  savage 
regions, —  a  consummation  much  to  be  deprecated. 

"  When  men  acquire  a  little  spirit,  and  while  with  head 
oppressed  and  grieved  at  heart  they  feel  the  time  to  be 
insufficient,  how  can  they  talk  of  still  deferring?  In 
such  a  case,  if  no  one  ventures  to  expose  the  falsehoo'd, 
ignorant  people  are  misled  by  them.  These  say  that  by 
acquiring  wealth  and  securing  happiness  they  may  avert 
an  age  of  calamities,  not  knowing  that  they  are  mere 
dupes,  and  what  flows  in  at  one  end  runs  out  at  the  other. 
We  have  not  seen  all  'the  adherents  of  that  religion  be- 
come wealthy,  but  there  are  those  of  them  who  perish 
from  poverty  and  hunger,  their  miseries  springing  from 
a  perennial  root.  Their  words  are  of  a  class  with  catch- 
ing the  wind  and  grasping  a  shadow,  unconscious  that 
they  are  simply  ranking  themselves  with  the  brute  crea- 
tion. When  intelligent  people  become  the  objects  of 
their  vain  declamation,  these  fear  to  stir  up  strife  and 
raise  a  quarrel. 

"  Now,  since  the  22d  year  of  Taou-kwang  [1842J,  these 
perverse  barbarians  have  put  forth  their  rebellious  views 
with  effrontery.     At  the  time  of  their   piratical    raid   on 

♦A  truitor  in  the  time  of  the  Three  Kingdoms. 


182  THE   FOREIGNER    IS    (II  IN  A. 

Canton,  who  was  there  to  come  to  the  rescue?  When 
they  pillaged  in  succession  Fooh-kien  and  Chih-kiang, 
who  was  there  to  come  to  the  rescue?  They  have  over- 
run Kiang-soo,  they  have  thrown  Shan-tung  into  con- 
fusion, they  have  extended  their  depredations  to  the 
Celestial  Capital  and  other  places,  and  yet  who  has  come 
to  the  rescue?  Now  having  insolently  invaded  the  me- 
tropolis, and  inflicted  a  deep  wound  on  our  national  ex- 
istence, while  no  one  comes  to  the  rescue,  is  it  likely  that 
they  will  fold  their  hands  and  go  away?  Why  do  we  still 
fear  their  empty  talk,  and  refrain  from  deliberating  on 
a  plan  for  their  slaughter?  Their  country  is  fifty  thou- 
sand li  from  China,  beyond  a  triple  ocean;  how  can  the 
life  or  death  of  men  be  overruled  at  a  distance  of  fifty 
thousand  U  across  the  ocean?  At  first,  when  they  clan- 
destinely entered  the  interior,  they  bribed  our  lawless 
seaboard  people.  The  real  barbarians  are  few  in  num- 
ber, and  we  southern  men,  hitherto  loyal  and  patriotic, 
will  certainly  not  be  made  their  tools.  Furthermore, 
the  water  of  the  lakes  is  exceedingly  shallow,  so  that  a 
barbarian  steamer  would  find  it  difficult  to  enter;  but 
should  they  come,  with  our  various  military  strategies 
we  are  more  than  a  match  for  them.  Why  should  we, 
in  apprehension  of  the  difficulties,  refrain  from  cordially 
combining  for  a  deadly  onslaught? 

"  But  as  to  those  who  are  the  victims  of  their  decep- 
tion, who  have  long  been  getting  more  and  more  polluted, 
till  their  very  vitals  are  afflicted  by  the  venom,  it  were 
insufferable  to  kill  them  without  first  giving  them  warn- 
ing. Thence  this  premonishment  is  issued  that  they  may 
renew  their  course.  If  they  still  cleave  to  their  delusion, 
then  let  the  heads  of  families  and  the  village  elders  com- 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  183 

bine  the  population  and  arm  the  neighborhoods,  to  seize 
the  offenders,  that  they  may  be  placed  in  some  solitary 
region,  or  hurled  beyond  the  seas,  to  take  their  place 
among  the  strange  things  of  creation;  for  they  must  by 
no  means  be  allowed  to  disgrace  the  Central  Land  with 
their  various  abandoned  and  corrupt  practices. 

"  The  above  suggestions  being  acted  on,  the  solicitude 
of  the  Prince  will  be  merely  like  postponing  an  evening 
meal  ;  the  misery  of  the  people  will  be  that,  of  eradi- 
cating poison  from  the  system  ;  the  hearts  of  the  multi- 
tude will  be  more  correct,  and  the  national  manners  will 
be  long  preserved.  Let  us  all  with  united  force  exert 
ourselves  in  combination.     Oppose  not  this  notification." 

Doubtless  the  above  work,  written  by  a  man  of  much 
ability,  receiving  official  endorsement  in  many  places,  and 
being  widely  circulated  among  the  literati  and  by  them 
communicated  to  the  ignorant  class,  had  much  to  do  with 
the  spirit  of  unrest  and  suspicion  that  prevailed  so  exten- 
sively through  several  of  the  provinces  a  few  years  since, 
culminating  in  the  massacre  of  Tien-tsin.  Incredible  as 
it  may  seem,  stories  of  the  vilest  practices,  and  of  the 
most  absurd  and  wicked  customs,  among  all  adherents 
of  Christianity,  are  commonly  reported  and  generally  cred- 
ited,— a  condition  of  things  inseparable  from  the  profound 
ignorance  of  everything  foreign  which  prevails  through  a 
greater  part  of  the  country.  Precisely  of  this  nature 
were  some  of  the  evils  against  which  primitive  Christians 
in  the  Roman  empire  had  to  contend,  calling  forth  the 
noble  defense  of  Tertullian  and  a  large  part  of  the  apolo- 
getic literature  of  the  Fathers. 

IV.  Not  the  least  among  the  hindrances  to  evangelism 
must  be  accounted  the  superstition  of  the  people.     With 


1«4  THE    KOKKKJNKK    IN    CHINA. 

the  views  they  entertain  of  the  power  of  disembodied 
spirits,  and  of  their  ghostly  influence  on  the  affairs  of 
this  world,  such  belief  having  its  flower  and  fruit  in  the 
ancestral  worship,  the  Chinese  must  necessarily  have  con- 
stantly before  them  the  fear  of  demons  and  hobgoblins. 

Several  events  occurring  at  Ningpo,  in  the  year  1846, 
strikingly  illustrate  this  fact.  During  the  summer  a  long- 
continued  drought  threatened  to  destroy  the  rice  crop,  and 
the  people  were  much  excited  and  alarmed  in  consecpaence. 
Processions  in  honor  of  the  Dragon,  and  other  religious 
ceremonials,  were  vainly  resorted  to  in  the  hope  of  in- 
ducing the  gods  to  send  rain.  The  rumor  was  circulated 
that  unknown  enemies  of  the  public  good  were  putting 
out  poisoned  cakes,  dropping  them  in  the  streets  or  sur- 
reptitiously placing  them  among  those  in  the  bakers' 
shops,  and  that  in  consecpaence  many  pei-sons  had  died  in 
a  neighboring  town.  It  was  stated  that  when  the  be- 
reaved friends  went  to  their  graves  to  weep  they  found 
the  coffins  open,  and  discovered  that  the  eyes  of  the 
deceased  had  been  cut  out  and  their  brains  abstracted, 
for  the  purpose,  it  was  supposed,  of  making  medicine. 
Then  came  the  report  that  on  a  certain  night  all  the 
fowls  in  the  neighborhood  lost  some  of  their  principal 
feathers, —  a  fact  to  be  accounted  for  on  the  supposition 
that  they  had  been  plucked  by  ghosts,  who  would  trans- 
form them  into  swords  to  be  employed  in  killing  men 
and  women. 

At  this  stage  the  public  mind  became  somewhat  quieted; 
but,  as  the  drought  continued  and  the  terrors  of  famine 
threatened  the  people,  the  excitement  was  renewed  and  be- 
came more  intense  than  ever.  Placards  were  posted  about 
the   city  stating   that   some   of   the   neighboring   districts 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  185 

were  beginning  to  be  annoyed  by  the  presence  of  evil 
spirits,  and  that  these  nocturnal  visitants  might  soon  be 
expected  at  Ningpo.  The  general  alarm  was  increased 
by  the  story  that  some  persons  living  near  the  east  gate 
had  been  aroused  from  their  sleep  in  the  night  by  strange 
noises,  as  though  a  large  body  of  men  were  marching 
through  the  street  with  loud  outcries.  Similar  sounds 
were  afterward  heard  above  the  houses  ;  and  many  were 
convinced  that  the  ghosts  of  the  Chinese  and  English 
soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  the  late  war  were  fighting 
their  battles  over  again.  While  all  were  expecting  some 
great  inroad  from  the  spirit-world,  at  about  four  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  August,  the  whole  popula- 
tion were  suddenly  aroused  from  their  slumbers  by  a 
terrible  commotion.  The  houses  seemed  to  be  rocking  on 
their  foundations,  and  a  mysterious  and  awful  sound,  like 
muttering  thunder,  rolled  along  the  affrighted  air.  The 
very  tiles  on  the  roofs  of  each  building  were  heard  rat- 
tling and  crashing  as  if  beneath  the  tread  of  advancing 
legions.  A  cry  of  horror  and  dismay  arose  from  every 
part  of  the  city,  and  the  echoing  shout  was  heard  from 
house  to  house,  "  The  ghosts  have  come  !  the  ghosts  have 
come!"  Instantly  the  most  frantic  efforts  were  made  to 
drive  away  the  Prince  of  Darkness  and  his  demon  host. 
Gongs  were  made  to  boom,  tables  and  chairs,  pots  and 
kettles,  were  lustily  pounded,  while  those  who  could  do 
nothing  else  were  leaping  up  and  down,  throwing  their 
arms  about  and  clapping  their  hands  and  screaming  with 
all  their  might.  Rarely  has  the  world  witnessed  such  ;i 
horrid  din  and  such  a  scene  of  utter  confusion  and  dis- 
may   as    broke    over    this    Chinese    city    on    that    eventful 

morning. 

8* 


186  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

The  shock  of  an  earthquake  was  the  immediate  occasion 
of  the  alarm,  albeit  a  respectable  literary  gentleman  argued 
against  the  possibility  of  such  an  event,  from  the  fact  that 
it  had  not  been  predicted  in  the  Imperial  Almanac!  What- 
ever might  be  said,  the  popular  excitement  for  some  time 
would  not  down;  and  ghosts  of  lions  and  tigers,  as  well  as 
of  men,  were  made  to  throng  the  air.  It  was  a  generally 
accepted  theory  that  the  foreigners  residing  in  the  city 
were  in  some  way  connected  with  these  ghostly  visits; 
although  some  differed  from  the  common  belief  in  the  sup- 
position that  it  might  be  exclusively  the  work  of  Roman 
Catholics,  and  others  laid  this  grave  allegation  at  the  door 
of  Boodhist  priests.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Culbertson,  who  resided 
at  the  time  in  Ningpo,  was  accustomed  to  take  evening 
walks  with  his  family  on  the  city  wall;  and  the  report 
became  current  that  he  kept  multitudes  of  demons  shut  up 
in  a  bottle,  and  that  he  had  been  seen,  on  one  of  these 
occasions,  to  draw  the  cork,  and  with  a  blast  from  his 
mouth  and  a  movement  of  his  arms  to  send  the  whole  troop 
flying  over  the  city  to  do  their  work  of  death.* 

The  principal  characteristics  of  Chinese  superstition  are: 
ancestral  worship,  consisting  of  divine  honors  to  the  dead; 
necromancy,  attended  with  table-turning  and  other  spirit- 
ualistic manifestations;  astrology,  making  use  of  luck}'  and 
unlucky  days  in  every  important  event  in  private,  social 
and  public  life;  geomancy,  always  in  request  in  selecting 
sites  for  burial  and  in  the  construction  of  dwellings; 
charms  and  amulets,  regarded  as  absolutely  necessary  in 
cases  of  danger,  sickness,  and  demoniac  influence.  These 
all  are  deeply  founded  in  national  history  and  national 
character,  and  all  are  in  direct  antagonism  to  the  precepts 

*  Culbertson's  ''Religions  and  Superstitions  of  China,"  pp.  173-179. 


HIXDEANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  187 

and  the  practice  of  Christianity.  The  missionary,  as  the 
exponent  of  a  new  doctrine  and  a  new  life,  finds,  at  first, 
that  both  are  constantly  misinterpreted  by  the  people  with 
whom  he  has  cast  his  lot.  His  most  heroic  and  self-denying 
acts,  conceived  in  prayer  and  executed  in  holy  purpose, 
may  strike  the  heathen  around  him  as  the  clearest  evidence 
of  wild  adventure  or  satanic  impulse.  He  cannot  even 
erect  a  chapel  without  some  peril  of  awakening  the  gravest 
apprehension  among  his  neighbors,  particularly  if  the 
structure  has  an  unusual  elevation;  and  a  steeple  or  cupola 
is  especially  an  object  of  dread,  as  it  is  supposed  to  inter- 
fere with  the  atmospheric  currents,  which,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  gods,  have  to  do  with  the  showers  that  water 
the  earth. 

V.  Another  difficulty  attending  missionary  labor  in 
the  Far  East,  repeatedly  mentioned  or  alluded  to  in  these 
pages,  is  implied  in  this  statement:  In  respect  to  moral- 
ity and  religion,  the  Chinese  nation  has  not  yet  discov- 
ered our  superiority.  Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at. 
The  West  is  still  imperfectly  known;  and  where  there 
has  been  actual  contact  the  happiest  results  have  not  al- 
ways been  realized.  The  political  intrigues  of  the  Jesu- 
its had  much  to  do  with  the  overthrow  of  Catholicism 
in  that  country.  The  foreign  name  is  deservedly  associ- 
ated with  the  opium  trade.  Also  the  coolie  traffic,  which 
has  been  attended  with  all  the  horrors  of  the  old  African 
slave-trade,  is  thus  inseparably  connected.  The  whole 
bloody  train  of  war,  unjustified  by  any  adequate  cause, 
including  spoliation  and  dire  vengeance  on  the  innocent, 
has  come  in  swift  ships  from  West  to  East.  Under  the 
auspices  of  lawful  commerce,  pictures  are  imported  from 
Europe,  among  which  are  found  large  quantities  of  stereo- 


188  THE    FOREIGNER   IN    CHINA. 

scopic  views  of  the  vilest  and  most  obscene  character, 
displaying  before  the  eye  vices  and  crimes  of  our  race 
which  we  would  blush  to  name.  The  author  himself  has 
more  than  once  been  filled  with  hot  indignation  at  seeing 
these  views  publicly  exhibited  on  the  streets  of  Peking. 
They  are  scattered  far  and  wide  through  the  country;  and 
it  is  believed  that  in  many  of  the  interior  cities  Chinamen 
might  be  found  who  are  making  large  incomes  by  show- 
ing them  to  hundreds  of  natives  daily. 

Drunken  sailors  on  shore,  or  desperate  adventurers 
in  command  of  piratical  fleets  on  the  coast,  or  foreign 
thieves  and  robbers  infesting  the  rivers  and  canals  of  the 
country,  have  been  taken,  by  those  who  have  had  but 
limited  opportunity  of  observation,  as  our  fit  and  wor- 
thy representatives  abroad.  The  favored  sons  of  fortune 
in  mercantile  houses,  or  the  attache  of  some  consulate, 
under  the  plea  "  that  there  is  something  peculiar  about 
the  tropics  which  excites  certain  passions  in  a  higher 
degree  than  in  temperate  regions," — that  "the  brilliancy 
of  the  skies  and  the  beauty  of  the  atmosphere  conspire 
to  influence  the  nerves  against  philosophy  and  her  rigid 
tenets,  and  forbid  their  practice  among  the  children  of 
the  sun," — throw  off  the  restraints  of  virtue  and  abandon 
themselves  to  social  crime,  consorting  with  the  pagan 
ministers  of  their  shameful  pleasure.  In  business  trans- 
actions with  strangers  from  Western  lands,  the  natives 
have  also  found  that  duplicity  and  dishonest  dealing  are 
not  confined  to  their  own  countrymen.  Such  facts  as 
these,  thrust  upon  the  attention  of  a  people  who,  in  their 
vanity  and  ignorance,  are  accustomed  to  regard  all  but 
themselves  as  barbarians,  have  doubtless  created  among 
them,  at  least  outside  the  range  of  direct  missionary  in- 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  189 

fluence,  the  general  conviction  that  the  European  races 
are  ambitious,  unscrupulous,  violent,  covetous,  and  licen- 
tious; and  that  they  are  below  their  own  level  in  re- 
spect of  morals  and  religion. 

Some  of  the  peculiar  embarrassments  under  which  the 
work  of  publicly  preaching  the  Gospel  is  carried  on  in 
China  cannot,  perhaps,  be  more  fittingly  illustrated  than  by 
the  experience  on  one  occasion  of  a  missionary,  thus  nar- 
rated by  himself  in  The  Chinese  Recorder  for  June  1871. 

"My  duties  led -me  on  a  certain  evening  not  very  long 
ago  to  the  missionary  chapel,  which  it  is  my  custom  to 
open  on  the  week-days  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may 
be  desirous  of  hearing  the  Gospel.  I  had  scarcely  en- 
tered and  taken  my  seat  before  a  Chinaman  came  in,  and 
with  a  cool  and  business-like  air  at  once  occupied  one  of 
the  empty  benches.  Usually  before  the  preaching  has 
well  commenced,  those  who  do  stroll  in  do  so  in  a  loung- 
ing, easy,  indifferent  kind  of  way,  as  though  curiosity  were 
the  only  possible  motive  that  could  have  brought  them 
in.  This  man,  however,  seemed  as  though  he  had  come 
by  special  appointment,  and  it  were  a  matter  of  supreme 
importance  that  the  subject  in  hand  should  be  finished 
off  as  quickly  as  possible.  It  would  have  been  difficult 
to  say  from  the  man's  appearance  to  what  position  in 
life  he  belonged.  His  dress  bordered  on  the  shabby,  and 
the  style  of  the  man  seemed  to  indicate  that  he  waa 
more  familiar  with  the  artisan  class  than  with  any  other. 
His  face,  however,  had  a  peculiar  look  of  sharpness  and 
intelligence,  such  as  one  is  accustomed  to  meet  with 
among  the  more  educated.  His  conversation,  too,  was  so 
interlarded  with  book  phrases,  and  his  general  knowledge 
of  his  own  literature  was  so  very  extensive,   that   it,  was 


190  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

evident  his  dress  gave  no  proper  clue  to  his  status  in 
society.  The  more  I  looked  at  the  man,  the  more  was  I 
struck  with  his  general  appearance.  There  was  intelli- 
gence, but  there  was  combined  with  it  a  certain  look  of 
dissatisfaction.  He  seemed  like  a  man  whose  ambition 
had  soared  high,  but  whose  projects  had  all  failed,  and 
consequently  the  disappointment  that  failure  had  pro- 
duced had  become  stamped  upon  his  expression. 

"  After  a  few  commonplace  remarks,  in  which  he  had 
said  that  this  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  been  in  a 
missionary  chapel, —  which  statement,  however,  I  mentally 
declared  -to  be  untrue, —  we  turned  to  the  subject  of  re- 
ligion. At  first  he  began  to  defend  idolatry  as  a  thing 
introduced  and  organized  by  the  sages  in  older  times,  and 
that  therefore  the  ceremonies  in  connection  with  it  were 
binding  upon  the  whole  Chinese  nation.  He  referred  to 
the  classics  in  confirmation  of  what  he  said;  but,  upon  a 
closer  investigation  of  the  texts  cpaoted.  he  had  to  acknowl- 
edge that  his  interpretation  of  them  differed  very  materi- 
ally from  those  of  the  recognized  commentators.  Indeed, 
he  finally  agreed  that  it  was  not  till  so  late  as  the  Han 
dynasty,  which  was  very  considerably  later  than  Confucius, 
that  idolatry  began  to  be  the  fairly  recognized  medium  of 
worship  in  China. 

"Turning  from  this  point,  he  said:  'Very  good;  I 
grant  you  there  is  nothing  very  strong  that  can  be  said 
in  defense  of  idolatry.  But,'  he  continued,  'we  have 
our  sages  with  all  the  writings  they  have  transmitted  to 
us.  They  contain  doctrines  of  the  highest  and  purest 
character,  and  it  is  these  that  after  all  are  the  real  powers 
in  our  nation's  morals.  It  seems  to  come  to  this:  you 
have  the  doctrines  of  your  sages  and  we  have  ours.     Why 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  191 

not  rest  content  with  what  we  mutually  possess,  instead 
of  your  striving  to  induce  us  to  lay  aside  ours  and  be- 
lieve in  yours?'  I  agreed  with  him  that  if  it  were  simply 
a  question  of  differing  sages  there  was  no  use  in  our  com- 
ing to  China  to  interfere  with  the  systems  they  possessed. 
The  case,  however,  was  very  different  from  that.  The 
real  question  at  issue  was  one  between  the  doctrines  of 
the  Bible  and  those  propounded  by  man, —  whether,  in 
fact,  God  was  to  be  the  teacher  or  man.  I,  however, 
demurred  to  his  statement  that  the  doctrines  of  the  sages, 
in  their  highest  and  purest  aspect,  had  any  appreciable 
influence  at  the  present  time  in  leading  the  nation  to 
do  what  is  right.  I  challenged  him  to  produce  me  one 
instance,  either  from  among  the  literati  or  the  manda- 
rin class,  who  are  the  most  thoroughly  imbued  of  any 
of  the  Chinese  in  these  doctrines,  who  were  in  any  de- 
gree striving  to  carry  out  the  principles  they  contain. 
He  somewhat  hesitatingly  agreed  that  the  instances  were 
certainly  very  rare. 

"  Whilst  in  the  very  act  of  admitting  this,  the  easy 
manner  he  had  hitherto  assumed  in  his  conversation  with 
me  seemed  to  slide  from  the  man,  and  like  a  flash  of  light- 
ning a  look  of  suppressed  hatred  and  bitterness  spread  in- 
stead. 'Oh,  then,' he  said, 'your  object  in  coming  here  is 
to  teach  us  charity  and  benevolence  and  truth  and  upright- 
ness, is  it?'  I  said,  'Yes.'  'If  this  be  your  object,  why 
is  it  that  you  yourselves  act  in  a  spirit  so  directly  the 
reverse  of  these,  and  force  upon  us  instead  your  abomi- 
nable opium?  If  your  nation  believes  in  these  doctrines 
as  divine,  why  has  it  imported  this  poisonous  stuff  to 
bring  poverty  and  distress  and  ruin  throughout  our 
land?'     And   as    he  went  on   he    became  excited,  and  his 


192  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

eye  flashed,  and  his  eloquence  grew.  Chinaman-like,  he 
rolled  his  head  from  side  to  side,  whilst  the  congre- 
gation (which  in  the  meantime  had  grown  largely) 
looked  on  with  approving  sympathy.  I  was  so  utterly 
taken  aback  that  I  could  do  nothing  but  quietly  sit  still 
until  he  had  given  full  expression  to  his  feelings.  My 
surprise  arose  not  so  much  from  the  matter  as  the  manner 
of  his  accusation.  It  was  given  forth  in  the  most  offen- 
sive language,  and  with  a  force  such  as  I  had  never  met 
with  on  any  previous  occasion. 

"  After  he  had  finished  what  he  had  to  say,  the  con- 
gregation that  was  scattered  about, —  some  sitting  on  the 
forms,  others  leaning  by  the  doorway,  and  others  again 
bending  over  the  backs  of  the  seats,  listening  breathlessly 
to  what  the  man  was  saying, —  with  one  consent  turned 
their  face  upon  me,  waiting,  without  uttering  a  sound, 
to  hear  what  would  be  my  reply.  I  must  say  that  I  never 
felt  so  uncomfortable  in  any  public  meeting  in  my  life 
before.  What  the  man  had  said  I  knew  and  felt  to  be 
the  truth.  I  began  therefore  somewhat  stain meringly 
to  utter  something  in  self-defense,  when  the  man  at  once 
stopped  me  by  saying,  '  There  is  no  use  in  your  trying 
to  get  out  of  the  matter  by  saying  that  you  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  this  opium  system.  Your  country  has. 
It  is  your  nation,  England,  that  is  responsible  for  all 
this  ruin  caused  by  opium.  It  was  the  English  guns  that 
compelled  our  Emperor  to  sanction  the  trade,  and  it  is 
through  England  that  it  may  now  be  sold  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  without  our  government 
being  able  to  do  anything  effectual  to  prevent  its  spread 
throughout  the  kingdom.'  The  facts  of  the  case  were 
all  on  his  side,  though  somewhat  offensively  stated.     En- 


HINDRANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  193 

gland's  share  in  this  opium  question  is  one  which  no 
reasoning  and  no  sophistry  can  turn  to  her  honor.  What- 
ever of  greatness  or  of  glory  there  may  be  in  her  history 
to  which  she  can  point  with  satisfaction,  there  is  at  least 
one  blot  upon  her  escutcheon  which  will  not  be  easily 
effaced,  and  that  is,  that  she  was  the  direct  means  of 
stimulating  and  protecting  a  trade  that  involves  a  third 
of  the  human  race  in  evils  which  no  language  can  de- 
scribe. I  replied  that  as  far  as  regarded  the  opium  itself 
he  and  I  were  at  one.  If  he  condemned  it,  just  as  strongly 
did  I;  but  I  reminded  him  that  if  the  Chinese  would  only 
cease  from  buying,  the  foreigners  must  of  necessity  stop 
from  importing, —  an  argument  that  seemed  to  have  such 
weight  with  him  that  it  completely  silenced  him,  though 
to  myself  it  appeared  so  utterly  illogical  that  I  was  heart- 
ily ashamed  for  having  to  use  it.  But  a  drowning  man 
will  catch  even  at  a  straw. 

"  Taking  advantage  of  the  turn  affairs  had  taken,  I 
glided  off  into  another  subject,  and  had  been  speaking  for 
ten  minutes  or  so,  the  man  all  the  while  listening  most 
attentively,  when  something  in  my  remarks  again  seemed 
to  strike  him,  so  he  stopped  me  and  said:  'It  is  not  sim- 
ply by  your  forcing  your  opium  upon  us  that  you  mani- 
fest your  hatred  of  us.  You  foreigners  don't  seem  to  be 
able  to  understand  that  we  Chinese  have  any  natural  af- 
fection. You  come  amongst  us  and  you  separate  husband 
from  wife,  and  children  from  parents,  and  you  break  up 
the  family  relationships,  and  you  leave  many  a  family  in 
mourning  and  misery.'  I  was  utterly  astonished  at  tliis 
charge,  not  having  the  remotest  idea  at  what  he  was  driv- 
ing. I  endeavored  to  stop  him  for  an  explanation,  but 
his  indignation  was  again  hurrying   him  along  at  a  pace 


104  THE    FORETCtXER    IN    CHINA. 

it  was  impossible  to  control.  At  last,  at  one  of  his  breath- 
ing spots,  I  managed  to  make  him  hear  that  he  must  stop, 
for  I  could  not  allow  him  to  go  on.  'Oh,  indeed,  you 
insist  that  I  shall  stop,  do  you?  You  think  you  can  come 
here  to  teach  us,  and  the  moment  we  begin  to  speak  of 
the  wrongs  your  country  has  done  us  our  mouths  must 
be  stopped!  Pretty  teachers  of  morals  you  are,  indeed!'  I 
assured  him  I  did  not  understand  his  charge,  and  that  I 
stopped  him  simply  to  get  an  explanation,  not  to  silence  him. 
My  custom  in  the  chapel  had  ever  been  to  allow  all  fair 
discussion,  and  he  had  but  to  explain  himself  to  get  a  fair 
and  honest  hearing.  A  few  words  from  him  enabled  me 
to  perceive  that  he  referred  to  the  coolie  traffic  which 
some  years  ago  had  been  carried  on  in  this  place.  Of  the 
iniquities  of  this  traffic  in  its  earlier  stage  it  would  be 
impossible  to  speak  in  strong  enough  terms.  Many  a 
home  had  indeed  been  made  desolate, —  many  a  family  had 
been  bereaved  by  the  man-stealer,  and  throughout  this 
region  the  connection  of  the  foreigner  with  it  had  en- 
gendered a  feeling  which  is  even  now  only  beginning  to 
subside.  Indeed,  only  a  week  previously  I  had  seen  the 
lifeless  trunk  of  a  man  carried  by  who  had  been  be- 
headed an  hour  before  for  decoying  persons  away  to  be 
shipped  to  the  south  as  coolies.  Fortunately  his  accusa- 
tion was  stronger  than  the  present  state  of  the  case 
would  sanction,  and  I  proceeded  to  show  him  that  the 
evils  he  described  did  not  now  exist.  The  English  gov- 
ernment had  made  such  arrangements  for  emigration  that 
not  only  must  a  man's  consent  be  obtained  for  his  going 
abroad  to  an  English  colony,  but  also  that  the  agree- 
ment entered  into  with  him  by  English  subjects  must  be 
faithfully  adhered  to  in  the  very  letter.     After  sitting  a 


HINDRANCES    TO    EVANGELISM.  195 

few  minutes  longer  he  rose  from  his  seat  and  left  the 
chapel. 

"  The  above  is  a  brief  description  of  a  scene  of  which 
I  have  a  very  vivid  but  at  the  same  time  a  very  painful 
recollection.  Of  course  I  have  given  the  substance  of  his 
remarks  in  my  own  words.  To  have  reproduced  his  ex- 
act language  would  have  been  both  impossible  and  indis- 
creet. As  I  have  already  hinted,  he  spoke  in  the  most 
offensive  way.  He  did  not  stay  to  choose  his  words,  and 
what  he  did  say  was  of  so  strong  and  pungent  a  nature 
that,  accustomed  as  I  am  to  every  variety  of  Chinese 
character,  I  had  never  met  with  any  one  that  has  his 
ability  to  say  things  in  such  a  bitter  and  sarcastic  way." 

The  narrator  of  this  incident  indulges  in  some  piquant 
remarks  on  the  theory  that  any  attempt  to  elevate  the 
Chinese  must  be  first  made  through  the  medium  of  civili- 
zation.    The  reader  is  invited  to  ponder  these  sentences: 

"  The  grievances  that  the  Chinaman  has  against  the 
foreigner  are  not  all  ideal  ones, —  not  all  the  result  of 
his  intense  conservatism.  The  Chinaman  is  shrewd  enough 
to  observe  that  whatever  blessings  the  foreigner  may 
bring  with  him,  he  is  the  cause  of  evils  which  in  their 
present  power  for  mischief  overshadow  all  the  effects 
that  his  good  could  possibly  achieve.  There  is  no  one 
that  looks  upon  the  frightful  net-work  of  opium  shops 
that  is  spread  throughout  any  Chinese  city  one  visits, 
or  that  marks  the  fearful  results  in  the  thousands  of 
pale  and  emaciated  wretches  that  one  may  see  issuing 
from  these  dens  by  day  or  night,  but  that  must  feel  this." 

That  this  view  of  the  case  is  amply  sustained  by  pub- 
•  lie  opinion  in  China,  might  be  clenrly  indimted  by  nu- 
merous  quotations    from    imperial    edicts    and    from    I  he 


196  TIIK    FOREIGNER    IX    CHINA. 

general  literature.  Who  can  read  without  a  thrill  of 
mingled  pity  and  indignation  the  noble  words  of  the 
Emperor  who,  when  urged  to  legalize  the  trade  in  opium, 
said:  "  It  is  true  I  cannot  prevent  the  introduction  of 
the  flowing  poison;  gain-seeking  and  corrupt  men  will, 
for  profit  and  sensuality,  defeat  my  wishes;  but  nothing 
will  induce  me  to  derive  a  revenue  from  the  vice  and 
misery  of  my  people." 

Without  doubt,  the  dreadful  famine  which  recently 
scourged  North  China  was  principally  owing  to  the  spread 
of  poppy  cultivation.  A  large  proportion  of  the  richest 
soils  in  that  region  has  been  devoted  to  the  nurture  of 
this  plant,  and  in  consequence  the  granaries  were  left 
empty,  with  no  provision  for  a  year  of  drought.  This 
is  but  one  fact  in  the  ghastly  train  of  evils  that  follow 
in  the  wake  of  a  traffic  which  the  enlightened  public 
sentiment  of  Christendom  will  yet  pronounce  accursed, 
even  as  the  unhappy  victims  anathematize  both  the  drug 
itself  and  the  hand  that  gave  it. 

Dr.  Legge,  the  eminent  missionary,  now  professor  of  the 
Chinese  language  and  literature  in  the  university  at  Oxford, 
gives  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  reason  for  the  seemingly 
slow  progress  of  Christianity  in  the  world,  and  especially 
among  heathen  nations,  is  not  to  be  sought  in  an}'  failure 
of  doctrine  or  precept  of  the  system  itself,  nor  in  any  lack 
of  authority  and  power  on  the  part  of  its  Divine  Author. 
He  says,  "  We  must  blame  ourselves: — the  divisions  among 
Christian  Churches;  the  inconsistencies  and  unrighteousness 
of  professors;  the  selfishness  and  greed  of  our  commerce;  the 
ambitious  and  selfish  policy  of  so-called  Christian  nations. 
I  cannot  illustrate  what  I  mean  better  than  by  telling 
you,  as  my  last  word,  of  a  conversation  with  His  Excel- 


HINDKANCES   TO    EVANGELISM.  197 

lency  Kwo  Sung-tao,  the  foi'mer  Chinese  embassador, 
soon  after  he  arrived  in  London  in  1877.  '  You  know,' 
he  said  to  me,  '  both  England  and  China.  Which  country 
do  you  say  is  the  better  of  the  two?'  I  replied,  '  En- 
gland.'' He  was  disappointed,  and  added,  '  I  mean  look- 
ing at  them  from  the  moral  standpoint; — looked  at  from 
the  standpoint  of  benevolence,  righteousness,  and  pro- 
priety, which  country  do  you  say  is  the  better?'  After 
some  demur  and  fencing,  I  replied  again,  '  England.'  I 
never  saw  a  man  more  surprised.  He  pushed  his  chair 
back,  got  on  his  feet,  took  a  turn  across  the  room,  and 
cried  out,  '  You  say  that,  looked  at  from  the  moral  stand- 
point, England  is  better  than  China!  Then  how  is  it 
that  England  insists  on  our  taking  her  opium?'"* 

Mr.  Justin  McCarthy,  in  his  recent  work,  gives  this 
summary  of  the  position  he  takes  on  the  opium  war,  in 
reference  to  the  political  or  international  aspect  of  the 
case:  "  Reduced  to  plain  words,  the  principle  for  which 
we  fought  in  the  China  war  was  the  right  of  Great  Brit- 
ain to  force  a  peculiar  trade  upon  a  foreign  people  in 
spite  of  the  protestation  of  the  government  and  all  such 
public  opinion  as  there  was  of  the  nation."  f 

An  able  writer  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Contempo- 
rary Review  thus  arraigns  his  nation  for  her  immoral 
transactions  with  this  heathen  country: 

"  Our  treatment  of  China  seems  to   be,  on  the  whole, 

the  most  criminal    part  of   our  public    action  during   the 

last   half-century, — I    mean    our    opium    policy.     W«    arc 

still    involved    in   the    guilt    of   this   crime.     The  story  of 

our  shame  is  a  continuous  one   to  this  moment.     I j<*t  no 

-one  pronounce  this  language  to  be  too  strong   till  be  has 

*  "  The  Religion    of  China,"  ]>.308. 

t "  A  History  of  Our  Own  Times,"  vol.  i,  p.  1 13. 


198  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHIXa. 

looked  into  the  undisputed  facts  of  this  miserable  history. 
We  began  by  smuggling  opium  into  China.  The  Chi- 
nese Government,  believing  the  use  of  opium  to  be  per- 
nicious, forbade  the  importation  of  it.  That  there  is  a 
great  craving  for  it  among  the  Chinese  is  not  denied  by 
the  Chinese  Government;  it  is  a  part  of  their  case.  The 
smuggling  of  opium  became  a  very  profitable  trade,  which 
the  English  authorities  took  no  pains  to  check.  In  1839 
the  Chinese  made  a  determined  effort  to  break  up  the 
trade,  and  they  took  steps  by  which  they  gained  posses- 
sion of  an  enormous  quantity  of  opium,  valued  at  nearly 
two  millions  sterling,  ready  to  be  poured  as  contraband 
goods  into  the  country.  This  they  publicly  destroyed. 
We  made  war  upon  them,  and  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
war,  in  1842,  we  extorted  from  them,  in  sheer  rapacity, 
an  indemnity  of  five  millions  sterling.  Forty  years  ago, 
this  war  was  denounced  by  Mr.  Gladstone  in  these  terms: 
'  A  war  more  unjust  in  its  origin,  a  war  more  calculated 
to  cover  this  country  with  permanent  disgi'ace,  I  do  not 
know,  and  have  not  read  of.'  Yes,  the  disgrace  has 
proved  permanent  in  a  sense  beyond  what  he  meant. 
In  1857  the  smuggling  of  opium  became  the  cause  of 
a  second  war,  in  which  we  forced  our  way  to  Peking. 
The  treat}*-  of  Peking,  in  1860,  included  a  clause  which 
legalized  the  trade  in  opium.  Opium  is  cultivated  in 
India  under  a  government  monopoly,  and  brings  in  a 
revenue  variously  estimated  at  six  millions  sterling,  or 
upward.  The  Chinese  opposition  to  the  sale  and  con- 
sumption of  opium  has  been  in  some  degree  wearied  by 
the  long  struggle;  but  there  is  evidence  that,  if  it  were 
possible,  the  use  of  this  drug  would  be  prohibited  in 
China  as  stringently  as  ever.      After  the  murder  of  Mr. 


HINDRANCES    TO    EVANGELISM.  199 

Margary,  in  Yun-nan,  a  convention  was  concluded,  in 
1876,  under  which  the  Chinese  paid  a  pecuniary  indem- 
nity and  sent  a  mission  to  this  country.  The  conven- 
tion was  negotiated  by  Sir  Thomas  Wade,  H.M.  Minis- 
ter in  Peking.  One  of  the  clauses  begins  thus:  'On 
opium,  Sir  Thomas  Wade  will  move  his  Government 
to  sanction  an  arrangement  different  from  that  affect- 
ing other  imports.'  We  have  received  the  indemnity, 
but  the  arrangement  which  the  clause  goes  on  to  describe 
has  not  been  ratified.  The  Government  were  moved  by 
Sir  Thomas  Wade,  but  they  were  also  moved,  and  more 
powerfully,  by  the  opium  interest.  Lord  Salisbury,  with 
that  candor  which  sometimes  characterized  the  late  Gov- 
ernment, explained  the  whole  matter.  The  arrangement 
would  have  put  it  into  the  power  of  the  Chinese  to  pre- 
vent smuggling.  With  smuggling  prevented,  they  would 
have  been  able  to  raise  their  own  internal  duty  on  opium. 
'  That  would  be  a  result,'  in  Lord  Salisbury's  words, 
1  which  practically  would  neutralize  the  policy  which 
has  hitherto  been  pursued  by  this  country  with  regard 
to  that  drug.'  No  wonder  that  the  Chinese  have  sus- 
pected us  of  a  design  not  only  to  make  money  but  to 
demoralize  and  to  enfeeble  their  race.  No  wonder  that 
the  Bishop  of  Victoria  should  have  been  stopped,  as  he 
says,  again  and  again,  while  preaching,  with  the  ques- 
tion, '  Are  you  an  Englishman?  Is  not  that  the  country 
that  opium  comes  from?  Go  back  and  stop  it,  and  then 
we  will  talk  about  Christianity.'  'Are  all  my  exertions,' 
wrote  Lord  Elgin,  '  to  result  only  in  the  extension  of 
the  area  over  which  Englishmen  are  to  exhibit  how  hol- 
low and  superficial  are  both  their  civilization  and  their 
Christianity  ? '  " 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PROTESTANT   MISSIONS   NOT  A   FAILURE. 

A  SECULAR  paper  published  in  Hong- Kong,  in  one  of 
-*--*-  its  numbers  issued  some  time  during  the  year  1867, 
stated  an  objection  to  Christian  missions  that  may  be  re- 
garded as  an  excellent  putting  of  the  case  from  a  stand- 
point wholly  mercenary  and  worldly;  and  it  may  serve, 
also,  to  represent  a  phase  of  thought  frequently  enter- 
tained by  lukewarm  and  ill-informed  friends  of  foreign 
evangelistic  effort.  The  criticism  referred  to  is  thus 
given : 

"  In  like  manner  we  maintain  that,  for  the  sums  dis- 
bursed and  the  number  of  missionaries  in  the  field,  the 
present  Protestant  missions  in  China  are  a  religious 
failure." 

This  proposition  certainly  has  the  merit  of  conciseness. 
The  argument  is  in  a  nutshell.  We  are  told  that  for 
the  sums  expended  "  four  thousand  adult  Protestant 
Christians  is  a  somewhat  small  return";  therefore,  "the 
missions  are  a  failure."  We  must,  however,  withhold  our 
assent  to  this  conclusion,  at  least  until  the  standard  of 
success  is  recognized.  What  number  of  converts  should 
we  consider  an  adequate  compensation  ?  On  the  one 
hand,  the  value  of  monej'  and  of  human  effort  must  be 
computed  ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  value  of  truth,  the 
worth  of  immortal  man,  must  be  accurately  estimated. 
Let  the  balance  be  struck!  Until  this  is  done,  it  is  logic- 
ally unsound  to  draw  the  above  sweeping  conclusion. 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  201 

The  author  of  the  sentiment  quoted  would  have  us 
consider  missions  "  by  the  same  tests  as  we  apply  to 
more  mundane  undertakings."  Certainly  there  can  be 
no  reasonable  objection  to  this.  The  man  is  but  an  in- 
different student  of  history  who  has  not  learned  that 
many  of  the  most  important  of  human  undertakings  have 
realized  their  objects  only  after  stupendous  and  protracted 
effort,  and  long  after  superficial  thinkers  had  placed  upon 
them  the  brand  of  failure.  Were  there  not  a  single  con- 
vert to  Christianity  in  the  Chinese  empire  to-day,  it  would 
still  be  too  early  to  pronounce  unfavorably  on  missions. 
It  took  three  centuries  to  subdue  pagan  Rome  to  Christ, 
and  generations  of  labor  passed  ere  the  land  of  the 
Druids  became  Christian  England.  Impatient  zeal,  or  un- 
reasoning skepticism,  may  demand  immediate  effects;  but 
enlightened  faith  will  calmly  wait  for  the  latter-day  tri- 
umph. Sir  Frederick  Bruce,  in  his  remarkable  dispatch 
to  Earl  Russell,  in  1862,  after  animadverting  upon  the 
prevailing  system  of  evangelism  in  China,  and  laying 
down  a  plan  of  his  own  devising,  confessed  that  the 
adoption  of  his  superior  views  involved  "  a  patient  pur- 
suit of  results,  not  perhaps  to  be  realized  by  the  first 
laborers." 

Foreigners  in  China  may  be  divided  into  three  leading 
classes, —  merchants,  officials,  and  missionaries.  It  is  but 
simple  justice  to  say  that  all  these  classes  have  honestly 
desired  to  succeed,  and  have  striven  earnestly  to  meet  the 
expectations  of  their  patrons  at  home.  They  have  had  to 
encounter  very  similar  difficulties,  and  have  prosecuted 
their  respective  enterprises  under  like  conditions  from 
the  beginning.      What  has  been  the  result? 

In   point  of  time,  the  merchants   have  enjoyed   the  su- 


202  THE   FOREIGNER   IN    CHINA. 

perior  opportunity.  They  made  their  first  advance  in 
the  country  before  either  Romanist  or  Protestant  had  in  • 
troduced  any  disturbing  element  into  the  political  or  re- 
ligious life  of  China,  and  while  as  yet  a  friendly  feeling 
existed  toward  traders  from  the  West  both  on  the  part 
of  the  government  and  among  the  people.  It  will  not  be 
denied  that  for  a  time  the  sails  of  commerce  were  filled 
with  prosperous  breezes.  We  are  even  prepared  to  attest 
the  fact  that  large  fortunes  have  been  accpaired  by  law- 
ful and  unlawful  traffic,  and  that  immense  hongs  have 
long  received  and  disbursed  the  valuable  products  of  Eu- 
ropean skill;  but  the  account  of  the  merchants  as  it  will 
sum  up  to-day  must  be  considered. 

The  hope  and  expectation  of  being  able  steadily  to 
enlarge  the  sphere  of  their  operations  by  introducing 
new  articles  into  the  markets  have  not  been  realized. 
Attempts  of  this  kind  have  been  repeatedly  made,  fol- 
lowed by  disappointment  and  great  financial  loss.  When 
the  northern  ports  had  just  been  officially  declared  ac- 
cessible to  foreign  commerce,  certain  traders  in  England 
were  wild  with  excitement.  A  Sheffield  firm  sent  out 
a  large  consignment  of  knives  and  forks,  and  declared 
themselves  prepared  to  supply  the  whole  Celestial  Em- 
pire with  cutlery.  Chinamen,  however,  preferred  chop- 
sticks; and  the  goods  were  sold  at  prices  which  scarcely 
realized  their  freight.  Native  shops  in  Hong-Kong  were 
for  years  afterward  adorned  with  them,  formed  into 
various  devices  on  their  shelves  like  guns  and  spears 
in  an  armory.  A  famous  London  house  sent  out  a  vast 
number  of  piano-fortes  on  the  supposition  that,  as  "  China 
was  opened  up,"  many  of  the  women  would  certainly 
want  to  learn  to  play  that  instrument.     But  the  Chinese 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  203 

remained  faithful  to  their  gongs  and  trumpets,  and  de- 
clined all  hospitality  to  these  accompaniments  of  refine- 
ment and  civilization.  The  consignees  at  Hong-Kong, 
being  greatly  embarrassed,  at  last  extricated  themselves 
by  insisting  upon  every  European  resident  buying  two 
instruments,  the  price,  of  course,  not  being  exorbitant. 
Consequently,  pianos  by  the  best  makers  abounded  at 
the  various  ports  where  foreign  communities  were  es- 
tablished. The  climate  of  these  ports  being  either  re- 
markably dry  or  indescribably  humid,  the  music-boxes 
soon  got  out  of  tune  and  discoursed  most  eloquent  dis- 
cord. Such  articles  as  carpets,  tools,  machines,  beds,  bon- 
nets, crinoline,  coffee,  butter,  cheese,  etc.,  may  be  found 
difficult  to  place  in  the  market  of  an  open  port  or  in- 
terior town;  but  it  is  surely  as  easy  to  introduce  these 
things  as  the  Christian  religion. 

The  examples  of  men  in  the  China  trade  who  have 
lost  money  rather  than  made  it,  or  who  have  become 
hopelessly  bankrupt,  ruining  both  themselves  and  their 
patrons,  are  certainly  matters  of  some  gravity  in  dis- 
cussing a  question  of  success  or  failure  in  commerce;  but 
these  are  not  so  significant  as  the  fact  that  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  business  once  controlled  absolutely  by 
foreigners  is  now  passing  out  of  their  hands.  Native 
dealers  have  practically  secured  control  of  the  tea  mar- 
ket: they  make  the  prices,  and  usually  absorb  the  larger 
share  of  the  profits.  Native  companies  own  man  \  of 
the  coast  steamers,  and  seem  destined  to  have  the  whole 
business  in  their  hands 

The  first  Chinese  steamer  that  ever  crossed  the  Pa- 
cific ocean  reached  San  Francisco  in  the  autumn  of  L880, 
and  lay   inside  the  Golden  Gate  for   some  time    until   the 


204  THE    FOREIGNER    IN   CHINA. 

Department  of  State  could  settle  her  status.  The  Wu- 
L'hung  is  to  be  regarded  as  but  the  pioneer  of  an  exten- 
sive movement  that  will  undoubtedly  bring  Chinamen 
into  more  or  less  successful  competition  with  our  wealthi- 
est and  most  enterprising  merchants.  They  already 
have  their  agents  in  several  of  the  great  commercial  cen- 
ters of  Europe  and  America.  Beyond  controversy,  the 
golden  days  of  commerce  with  China  are  either  in  the 
past  or  in  the  untried  future. 

We  may  next  turn  our  attention  to  the  class  of  offi- 
cials, and  inquire,  What  success  has  been  achieved  in 
the  sphere  of  diplomacy?  We  will  not  assume  to  know 
the  secrets  of  state,  or  comprehend  certain  questions  of 
administration  and  civil  law;  but  we  shall  not  be  denied 
the  right  to  scan  public  documents  and  apply  the  test  of 
our   reason    to  well-known  facts   bearing  on  this  subject. 

It  should  be  premised  that  many  members  of  the  con- 
sular branch  of  service,  embracing  representatives  of  all 
nations  which  trade  with  China,  have  been  men  of  high 
character  and  superior  scholarly  attainments;  who,  also, 
have  exercised  a  salutary  influence  in  their  intercourse 
with  Chinese  officials,  exhibiting  signal  zeal  and  ability 
in  serving  the  interests  of  their  constituency.  And  the 
same  may  be  said,  with  much  emphasis,  of  gentlemen  in 
the  higher  diplomatic  circle.  But  our  discussion  turns 
on  the  question  of  achievement  in  matters  of  dispute  and 
negotiation  with  the  official  representatives  of  traditional 
Chinese  policy. 

Sir  John  Francis  Davis  early  discovered  a  fact  that 
has  repeatedly  challenged  the  attention  and  deference  of 
Western  diplomates.  "  The  Chinese  frequently  get  the 
better    of    Europeans,   in    a    discussion,   by    imperturbable 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  205 

coolness  and  gravity.  It  is  part  of  their  policy  to  gain 
the  advantage  by  letting  their  opponent  work  himself 
into  a  passion  and  place  himself  in  the  wrong;  hence  the 
more  than  ordinary  necessity  of  carefully  preserving  the 
temper  with  them."*  The  unwritten  history  of  diplo- 
matic intercourse  at  the  ports,  and  even  at  the  capital, 
would,  if  known,  indicate  at  this  very  point  the  reason  of 
the  abrupt  and  unsatisfactory  conclusion  of  more  than  one 
important  negotiation. 

The  trade  in  opium,  incidentally  with  other  causes,  be- 
came a  bone  of  contention  that  plunged  England  into 
her  first  war  with  China.  Sundry  disputes  and  hostilities 
supervened  from  time  to  time,  which  culminated  in  a 
second  and  third  war, —  not,  however,  through  lack  of  the 
earnest  efforts  of  consuls  and  envoys  extraordinary,  in 
each  case,  to  avert  such  a  calamity.  England  has  for 
about  forty  years  been  engaged  in  "opening  China.'"  To 
employ  the  expressive  figure  used  by  one  writer,  "The 
point  of  the  wedge  was  entered  by  gun-boats  and  armies, 
and  the  diplomatic  muscle  of  successive  cabinets  has  been 
wielding  the  beetle  ever  sinoe,  and  it  is  not  driven  home 
yet."  The  cordon  of  barriers  which  was  originally  drawn 
around  the  treaty  ports  is  still  invincible  to  the  merchant, 
although  there  are  signs  of  a  voluntary  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  government  toward  a  more  liberal  and  enlight- 
ened policy. 

The  signal  results  of  war  have  seldom  been  wisely 
improved  by  diplomacy.  When  Captain  Elliot  attacked 
Canton,  in  1840-41,  and  succeeded,  through  the  valor  of 
English  sailors  and  soldiers,  in  driving  the  enemy  from 
every  stronghold  around  the  city,  the   Itiili^li   representa- 

*  Davis'  "China  and  the  Chinese,"  vol.  i.  p.  J47. 


206  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

tive  did  not  use  this  fortunate  result  by  entering  the 
provincial  capital  at  once  and  trampling  under  foot  the 
arrogant  assumption  that  no  foreigner  should  be  allowed 
to  pass  its  gates;  but  he  accepted  overtures  of  peace  out- 
side the  walls  while  actually  contemplating  them  as  limits 
of  a  forbidden  precinct,  withdrew  his  forces  for  a  handsome 
pecuniary  indemnity,  and  left  the  Chinese  to  plume  them- 
selves on  their  success, —  a  proceeding  which  necessitated 
the  identical  work  to  be  all  done  over  again,  yeai-s  after, 
at  the  expense  of  a  vast  amount  of  blood  and  treasure. 
Sir  Henry  Pottinger  committed  a  similar  error  when, 
after  taking  various  cities  on  the  coast,  and  by  appearing 
with  a  formidable  scpuadron  before  Nanking,  so  terrifying 
the  Chinese  that  they  professed  themselves  ready  to  sub- 
mit to  any  terms,  he  withdrew  his  forces  at  the  moment 
of  complete  triumph  and  was  inveigled  into  shifting  the 
scene  of  detailed  negotiations  back  to  Canton,  instead  of 
onward  to  Peking,  thereby  losing  some  of  the  most  prac- 
tical benefits  which  should  have  accrued.  After  repeated 
blunders,  resulting  in  the  catastrophe  of  Ta-koo,  Lord 
Elgin  awoke  to  the  fact  that  the  effectual  blow  must  be 
struck  at  the  capital.  The  courage  and  strategy  of  the 
allied  forces  soon  brought  him  there,  but  he  was  content 
with  occupying  only  one  gate  of  the  imperial  city,  utterly 
throwing  away  the  first  complete  opportunity  that  had 
occurred  of  settling  the  old  and  vexed  question  of  a  per- 
sonal audience  of  the  Emperor,  the  postponement  of  which 
occasioned  material  prejudice  to  all  foreign  interests  in 
China. 

In  the  English  treaty  of  1858,  provision  was  made  for 
a  revision  of  its  stipulations  at  the  end  of  ten  years. 
Early  in  1868   the  famous  "revision  controversy"  began. 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  207 

On  the  English  side,  the  campaign  was  opened  by  a  circu- 
lar of  Sir  Eutherford  Alcock,  dated  May  28,  addressed  to 
the  British  consuls  in  China,  instructing  them  to  put  them- 
selves in  communication  with  the  mercantile  communities 
in  their  several  jurisdictions,  to  ascertain  what  changes 
could  be  advantageously  proposed  in  order  that  Her  Majes- 
ty's government  might  have  the  best  means  of  forming  a 
judgment  of  the  expediency  or  otherwise  of  demanding 
such  a  revision  as  would  lay  in  the  direction  of  expansion 
of  privileges.  In  pursuance  of  official  notification,  the 
merchants  held  their  meetings  in  a  public  manner  and 
with  open  doors,  putting  their  demands  in  the  shape  of 
resolutions,  and  publishing  them  in  the  papers  of  Hong- 
Kong  and  Shanghai.  They  united  in  asking  for  the  break- 
ing down  of  exclusiveness,  the  curtailment  of  monopolies, 
the  introduction  of  railways  and  telegraphs,  privileges  of 
steam  navigation  on  the  inner  waters,  the  opening  of  new 
ports,  the  reduction  of  onerous  duties,  the  working  of 
coal  and  iron  mines,  the  privilege  of  inland  residence,  the 
right  of  owning  warehouses  away  from  the  ports,  etc.  On 
the  Chinese  side,  having  the  advantage  of  complete  infor- 
mation as  to  the  various  points  which  would  probably  be 
raised  by  the  English,  secret  and  effective  preparations 
were  made  for  the  final  grapple  by  the  astute  manipulators 
of  state-craft  at  Peking.  Negotiations  were  protracted, 
but  ineffectual;  and  instead  of  that  real  and  complete 
opening  of  the  empire  which  was  anticipated,  only  a  few 
petty  concessions  were  realized,  and  the  Chinese  restrictive 
policy  won  a  great  victory.  The  coveted  inland  residence 
and  privilege  of  trade  were  denied,  and  steamers  were 
refused  admittance  to  interior  waters.  "At  the  last,  after 
tedious  delay  and  fruitless  endeavors,  the  treaty  was  signed 


208  THE    FOREIGNER    IX    CHINA. 

on  the  23d  of  October,  1869.  The  three  years'  campaign 
was  now  ended.  The  foreigner  was  beaten, —  the  Mongol 
had  outmamvuvered  the  Saxon;  the  scow  had  got  to  wind- 
ward of  the  dipper;  coolie  muscle  was  exalted  above  steam; 
the  paddle-wheels  had  to  yield  the  way  to  the  old-fashioned 
scull;  and  foreign  civilization  had  to  retire,  abashed,  from 
its  vain  endeavor  to  accept  the  invitation  of  Mr.  Burlin- 
game  and  'graft  itself  on  the  ancient  civilization  of 
China.' " 

For  several  years  there  have  been  five  legations  in 
Peking,  with  their  able  and  experienced  ministers,  their 
learned  secretaries,  and,  in  most  instances,  their  talented  and 
accomplished  suites.  They  have  all  enjoyed  the  advantage 
of  position  and  prestige,  with  the  auxiliaries  of  modern 
science,  and  the  illustrations  of  art  and  elegance.  They 
have  also  had  the  advantage  of  dealing  in  more  or  less 
familiar  intercourse  with  the  most  representative  men  of 
the  empire.  What  is  the  measure  of  success?  Is  it  com- 
mensurate with  the  great  opportunity?  If  so,  the  fame 
thereof  has  not  yet  reached  us. 

In  view  of  the  facts,  it  will  not  be  denied  that  China 
has  proven  a  hard  field  to  both  merchants  and  officials, — 
difficult  to  cultivate,  and  yielding  not  very  generous  re- 
sults. Possibly  the  missionaiy  will  boast  of  no  splendid 
success, —  of  nothing  more  than  slow  and  steady  progress; 
but  he  will  at  least  be  willing  to  have  us  consider  mis- 
sions "  by  the  same  tests  as  we  apply  to  more  mundane 
undertakings,"  as  they  are  exhibited  in  the  several  spheres 
of  foreign  enterprise  in  the  Far  East. 

The  object  sought  by  the  missionaries  is  the  complete 
evangelization  of  China.  It  is  an  undertaking  of  vast 
import,  into  which  must  enter  the  element  of  time.     We 


PROTEST  A.NT   MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  209 

ourselves  are  not  what  we  are  as  the  result  of  a  brief 
period  of  Christian  work;  and  it  ought  not  to  be  forgot- 
ten, in  the  critical  survey  of  missions  in  China,  that  it  is 
only  a  few  years  since  that  country  was  opened  to  the 
propagation  of  the  Gospel.  Not  until  some  time  after 
Dr.  Morrison  had  completed  his  laborious  life  did  the 
agents  of  Protestant  evangelism  find  it  practicable  to  en- 
ter more  than  two  or  three  cities  of  the  empire.  They 
could  possibly  make  bricks  without  straw,  but  they  could 
not  build  up  Churches  without  converts,  who  wei'e  to  be 
won  only  as  the  opportunity  was  presented  of  teaching 
and  preaching.  At  first,  the  procuring  of  houses  to  live 
in,  the  erection  of  chapels,  the  organization  of  schools, — 
in  fact,  almost  every  advance  movement, —  was  carried  on 
in  the  midst  of  constant  peril  and  peculiar  embarrass- 
ments. Many  of  the  ablest  men  have  been  employed  as 
pioneers, —  the  picket-guard  of  the  advancing  column.  It 
was  for  them  to  penetrate  the  terra  incognita  of  heathen- 
ism, to  encounter  and  subdue  novel  and  untried  difficul- 
ties, to  determine  the  far-reaching  policy  of  missions,  to 
compile  grammars  and  dictionaries,  to  translate  the  Sacred 
Volume  and  other  needed  text-books,  and  to  organize  and 
equip  all  the  appliances  for  carrying  on  so  important  a 
work.  Although  not  immediately  producing  the  fruit 
desii'ed,  much  of  this  labor  will  not  have  to  be  performed 
again  ;  and  the  successors  of  these  learned  and  faithful 
men  are  put  in  possession  of  a  vast  apparatus,  which  can- 
not fail  in  tin  ir  hands  to  prove  formidable  as  against  the 
powers  of  darkness. 

To  win  the  first   little  company   of   neophytes  was   no 
small  thing.     As  each  idolater  was  held  fast  by  the  entire 

force  of  native  superstition,  the  conversion  of  one  was  a 
9* 


210  THE   FOREIGXER    TX    CHINA. 

triumph  over  the  whole  might  of  paganism.  As  a  pub- 
lic Christian  sentiment  was  created,  the  work  of  propa- 
gandism  went  forward  with  greater  ease  and  more  rapid 
success.  Bands  of  secret  worshipers  expanded  into  socie- 
ties ;  congregations  were  assembled  statedly  for  divine 
service,  and  the  whole  elaborate  church  organization  came 
at  length  into  being. 

The  Established  Church  of  England  and  the  American 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  have  their  diocesan  fields  of 
labor,  with  their  bishops  and  native  and  foreign  clergy. 
The  missionaries  of  the  London  Society  have  instituted  the 
Independent  or  Congregational  order.  American  Presby- 
terianism  has  her  Synod,  with  several  Presbyteries.  The 
English  Wesleyans,  American  Baptists,  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  the  United  States,  to  mention  no  others, 
are  also  represented  each  by  their  peculiar  ecclesiastical 
forms  ;  all  working  together  in  much  harmony,  the  for- 
eign laborers  being  reinforced  and  greatly  aided  by  an 
able  corps  of  native  pastors  and  teachers. 

The  Synod  of  China,  connected  with  the  American 
Presbyterian  Church,  met,  as  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly,  in  the  mission  chapel  in  Shanghai,  on  the  even- 
ing of  October  20,  1870.  The  opening  sermon  was 
preached  by  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Nevius,  D.D.,  in  the  Ningpo 
dialect,  on  the  subject  of  "  Christian  Unity."  Dr.  Nevius 
was  elected  moderator  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  Rev.  S. 
Dodd,  Rev.  Tsiang  Nyieng-kwan  and  elder  Lu  Kyae-dzing 
were  chosen  clerks.  The  body  consisted  of  about  fifty 
ministers,  who  were  divided  into  eight  Presbyteries,  in- 
cluding one  in  Japan  and  one  in  Siam.  The  returns 
were  found  to  be  incomplete,  but  the  reports  as  given 
showed    a   membership   of   over  seven   hundred,  with  con- 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS   NOT    A    FAILURE.  211 

tributions  to  the  amount  of  some  seven  hundred  dollars. 
It  was  estimated  that  if  the  members  were  equally  di- 
vided into  three  or'  four  Churches,  the  amount  of  money 
raised  would  support  as  many  native  pastors,  and  also 
leave  something  over  to  give  toward  planting  the  Gospel 
in  new  regions.* 

The  first  Chinese  annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  was  organized  by  Bishop  I.  W.  Wiley, 
December  20,  1877,  in  Tieng-Ang-Tong,  or  "Church  of 
the  Heavenly  Rest,"  in  the  city  of  Foo-chow.  The  Bishop, 
referring  to  the  time  when  he  himself  had  been  a  mis- 
sionary to  the  Chinese,  and  when,  twenty-three  years 
before,  he  had  found  it  necessary  to  leave  the  city  in  con- 
sequence of  broken  health,  indulged  in  these  reflections: 
"  Then,  there  was  not  a  Church  nor  a  native  Christian; 
now,  there  are  in  this  city  three  large  Churches  of  our 
own  mission,  besides  several  of  other  missions.  Then, 
we  could  not,  by  treaty  rights,  pass  more  than  five  miles 
beyond  the  city ;  now,  our  missionaries  and  native  preach- 
ers have  their  districts  and  their  circuits,  reaching  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  north  and  west  and  two 
hundred  miles  to  the  south  and  east.  Now,  there  are 
over  four  thousand  native  Christians  in  the  three  mis- 
sions; and  in  this  church  I  now  see  before  me  eighty 
native  Chinese  preachers,  and  between  two  and  three 
hundred  native  Chinese  Christians,  representing  a  church 
membership  of  more  than  two  thousand,  ready  to  be  or- 
ganized into  an  annual  Conference! "  f  The  good  Bishop 
might  have  further  reflected,  that,  compared  with  the 
history  of  his  home   Church,  there   had   been   a   gain    in 

♦The  "Chinese  Recorder,"  April  1871. 
t Wiley's  'China and  Japan,"  p.  irt-i. 


212  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

China  of  four  years  in  time  and  over  eight  hundred  in 
membership. 

The  North  China  Mission  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions  held  their  first  an- 
nual meeting  in  Peking,  in  the  month  of  Februaiy  1867; 
at  which  time  there  were  three  stations,  fourteen  foreign 
laborers,  and  no  more  than  a  score  of  converts.  The  an- 
nual meeting  for  1880  reported  six  stations,  forty  mis- 
sionaries, eight  licentiates,  and  over  four  hundred  native 
Christians.  And  this  makes  no  mention  of  the  success- 
ful and  prosperous  mission  in  South  China. 

General  organizations,  transcending  denominational 
lines  but  not  conflicting  with  them,  which  are  a  pleas- 
ant and  legitimate  fruit  of  Catholicity,  and  also  a  sure 
indication  of  healthful  progress,  are  beginning  to  spring 
up.  The  Chinese  Tract  Society,  only  two  or  three  years 
old,  is  already  proposing  an  extended  scheme  of  opera- 
tions. It  has  a  board  of  forty  trustees,  being  composed 
half  of  foreign  missionaries  and  half  of  native  Christians, 
representing  all  the  Churches.  The  object  is  to  make 
known  the  Gospel  by  printed  truth,  for  which  purpose 
it  solicits  the  cooperation  of  Christians  in  all  lands,  and 
especially  seeks  the  formation  of  auxiliary  societies  among 
the  natives.  Several  valuable  works  are  in  the  hands 
of  the  Publishing  Committee,  and  a  large  number  of 
native  Christians  are  enrolled  as  members.  A  Chinese 
preacher  in  the  Sandwich  Islands  has  written  to  know 
how  he  can  forward  a  contribution  of  fifty  dollars  to  be- 
come a  life  member.  The  Shanghai  Missionary  Con- 
ference, held  in  the  month  of  May  1877,  was  composed 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  ladies  and  gentlemen,  rep- 
resenting   nearly  all    the    foreign    missionary  societies    la- 


PROTESTANT   MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  213 

boring  in  China.  Questions  of  the  utmost  gravity,  per- 
taining to  the  one  universal  Church  of  Christ,  were  dis- 
cussed with  zeal,  learning,  and  a  high  order  of  ability. 
The  most  fraternal  spirit  prevailed,  and  the  sessions  con- 
cluded with  a  prayer-service  of  phenomenal  power.  The 
faith  and  assurance  of  that  body  of  experienced  Christian 
workers  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  when  the 
question  was  asked,  "  Ought  we  not  to  make  an  effort 
to  save  China  in  this  generation?"  the  answer  was  re- 
turned as  the  sentiment  of  all,  "  The  Church  of  God  can 
do  it,  if  she  be  only  faithful  to  her  great  commission."* 

If  it  be  true  that  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  in 
reality  not  so  much  the  proclamation  of  a  doctrine  as 
the  holding  up  of  a  life,  it  becomes  a  source  of  eminent 
satisfaction  that  our  representatives  in  China  are  estab- 
lishing a  personal  character  and  influence  worthy  of  their 
high  calling.  To  a  gentleman  who  recently  visited  him 
in  Shanghai,  the  Hon.  Geo.  F.  Seward,  late  Consul-Gen- 
eral and  United  States  Minister,  said:  "The  residence 
of  a  number  of  missionaries  in  Peking,  their  orderly 
lives  and  their  harmony,  have  produced  a  good  effect 
upon  the  Chinese  officials."  "  Their  presence  at  the  cap- 
ital, then,"  said  the  visitor,  "  has  not  produced  complica- 
tions.'" "  On  the  contrary,"  replied  Mr.  Seward,  "  their 
presence  has  tended  to  allay  the  prejudices  existing 
against  foreigners."  During  the  famine  in  North  China, 
in  1877-8,  benevolent  contributions  from  England  and 
America,  with  the  local  aid,  amounted  to  some  four  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.  It  would  have  been  simply  im- 
possible to  have  extended  to  famishing  Chinese  the   relief 

*  "  Records  of  tin-  Missionary  <  'onference  " :  Shanghai,  Presbyterian  Mission 
Press. 


214  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

contemplated  by  this  fund  without  the  aid  of  mission- 
aries. Nearly  the  whole  of  the  work  of  distribution  was 
committed  to  their  hands,  and  it  was  faithfully  and  ably 
done.  It  has  been  estimated  on  good  authority  that  in 
the  south  pa-rt  of  Shan-si  province  alone  six  millions  of 
people  perished.  The  Rev.  Timothy  Richard  wrought 
in  that  field  with  such  success  that  he  was  enabled  to 
relieve  much  suffering  and  save  many  lives.  The  Chi- 
nese officers  sought  his  aid  in  the  emergency,  and  sub- 
sequently offered  to  erect  a  tablet  to  his  memory.  At 
one  time  he  numbered  no  less  than  four  hundred  inquir- 
ers, none  of  whom  were  recipients  of  the  bounty  distrib- 
uted, but  who  were  led  to  think  that  the  religion  that 
prompted  the  charity  must  be  more  than  human.  The 
dire  distress  of  the  Chinese  was  the  opportunity  of  many 
of  the  English  and  American  missionaries.  And  when 
the  people  saw  these  men  exposing  themselves  to  toil 
and  hardship;  without  fear  of  the  famine  fever,  passing 
from  village  to  village  and  from  city  to  city  intent  on 
the  work  of  charity,  they  said,  "  These  foreign  teachers 
are  indeed  living  Boodhas!"  Such  incarnations  of  mercy, 
placed  under  their  own  personal  observation,  will  surely 
attract  many  Chinese  away  from  the  service  of  their  idol 
gods  to  a  pure  faith  and  a  holy  life. 

It  is  too  late  to  speculate  on  a  question  of  the  probable 
success  or  non-success  of  Christian  missions  in  China. 
They  are  succeeding.  A  Church  of  the  living  God  has  been 
raised  up  in  that  land, —  youthful,  but  rejoicing  in  a 
vigorous  and  growing  life;  with  numbers  few,  but  possess- 
ing the  truth,  loving  the  truth,  and  ready  to  die  for  the 
truth.  Twenty  thousand  converts  and  six  hundred  native 
preachers,  eloquent  as  the  figures  are,  do  not  express  the 


PROTESTANT    MISSION'S    NOT    A    FAILURE.  215 

full  measure  of  results.  The  power  of  the  Gospel  to  sub- 
due the  superstition,  pride  and  avarice  of  Chinamen  has 
been  abundantly  demonstrated.  The  spirit  of  revival  and 
emotional  piety  has,  on  repeated  occasions,  stirred  their 
impassive  Asiatic  nature.  Moreover,  revealed  truth  has 
come  in  contact  with  many  unenlightened  minds;  and  that 
truth  is  neither  imponderable  nor  effete.  "  The  indestructi- 
bility of  force  "  in  the  material  world,  revealed  by  modern 
scientific  research,  should  teach  us  that  the  moral  force 
expended  even  a  generation  ago  in  this  controversy  with 
paganism  has  not  been  lost.  Our  unbelief  stands  revealed 
in  its  weakness  and  folly  before  the  sublime  faith  of  a 
native  Christian  scholar  who  uttered  this  sentiment:  "The 
Cross  points  in  all  directions,  North  and  South,  East  and 
West,  implying  that  its  object  is  to  extend  far  and  wide, 
and  that  its  influence  is  to  be  commensurate  with  the  ends 
of  the  earth."  What  has  been  achieved  may  be  regarded 
as  a  great  prophetic  fact;  for  if  the  present  rate  of  con- 
version of  the  Chinese  to  Christianity  should  continue,  by 
the  year  1913  there  will  be  twenty-six  millions  of  Church 
members  and  one  hundred  millions  of  nominal  Christians 
in  the  empire. 

Confucianism, —  the  representative  religion  of  China, — 
containing  much  that  is  good  and  little  that  is  positively 
vicious,  and  which  appears  wisely  designed  to  rectify  the 
social  system  and  exalt  the  state,  has  had  the  most  un- 
limited scope  for  its  development.  The  great  teacher  per- 
fected his  system  and  committed  it  to  the  jealous  watchcare 
of  three  thousand  disciples  nearly  five  centuries  before 
Christ,  and  it  has  been  continued  until  this  day.  No  form 
of  religion  in  the  empire  has  been  able  to  supplant  or  even 
seriously  to  influence  it.     It  has  been  nourished  and   de- 


216  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

fended  by  a  long  line  of  illustrious  kings  and  emperors; 
while,  during  a  period  of  two  millenniums,  its  principles 
have  been  taught  and  enforced  by  the  greatest  scholars  and 
philosophers  in  the  land.  Judging  from  outward  appear- 
ances, no  system  has  ever  been  more  successfully  propa- 
gated. All  the  culture  and  education  is  based  upon  it,  and 
is  fashioned  by  its  precepts  and  methods  of  thought.  "  The 
roads  to  honor,  to  wealth,  and  to  official  preferment,  all 
start  out  from  the  skill  displayed  in  stating  and  applying 
the  maxims  of  the  sage  and  his  expounders.  The  most 
powerful  social  class  is  composed  of  those  who  have  been 
covered  with  literary  honors  for  their  proficiency  in  the 
knowledge  of  Confucius.  Confucianism  is  really  the  state 
constitution;  it  is  the  state  religion;  it  is  the  state  eti- 
quette. Confucius  and  his  teachings  are  worshiped  by 
three  hundred  millions  of  people.  The  words  that  fell 
from  his  lips  form  the  theses  of  all  the  literary  tourna- 
ments of  the  empire.  They  are  graven  deep  on  granite 
monuments.  They  are  posted  on  the  doorways  of  pavilions 
and  rest-houses  every  year.  They  ai*e  written  on  fans  that 
are  ever  in  hand.  They  are  painted  on  bed-curtains.  They 
are  gilded  on  rolls,  and  hung  up  to  adorn  their  temples 
and  dwelling-houses.  They  furnish  the  phraseology  with 
which  men  of  polite  learning  exchange  amenities  with  each 
other;  and  they  may  be  heard  falling  from  the  lips  of  the 
common  people  in  the  markets,  when  chaffering  about  the 
price  of  shrimps  and  snails."  *  It  thus  appears  that  Con- 
fucianism has  enjoyed  all  the  most  favorable  conditions  for 
a  perfect  development.  God  in  his  wise  providence  has 
given  the  nation  length  of  days,  isolation  from  unfriendly 
foreign  influence,  with  the  broadest  field  for  a  vast  experi- 

*  "A  Moral  Problem  Solved  by  Confucius,"  by  Rev.  William  Ashmore. 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  J 17 

ment  well  calculated  to  show  what  can  be  accomplished  by 
the  virtue  that  has  survived  the  fall.  What,  then,  is  the 
result?  Perhaps  we  could  give  no  more  pertinent  reply 
than  to  briefly  sketch  the  moral  condition  of  the  Chinese, 
as  exhibited  in  the  various  phases  of  national  life. 

The  "five  virtues," — benevolence,  integrity,  propriety, 
wisdom,  sincerity,  with  filial  piety, —  are  inculcated  for 
universal  observance,  and  to  their  partial  exemplification 
in  the  daily  life  of  the  people  we  may  attribute  their 
remarkable  longevity  as  a  nation,  their  love  of  fixed  and 
orderly  modes  of  life,  their  thrifty  habits,  and  their  gen- 
eral tendency  to  practice  the  arts  of  peace.  It  must  be 
said,  however,  that  although  truth  and  honesty  are  recog- 
nized and  commended  as  virtues,  their  very  opposites  are 
far  more  extensively  known,  and  constitute  the  defects 
which  are  peculiar  to  Chinese  character.  The  art  of  de- 
ceiving is  studied  and  practiced  among  all  classes.  It  is 
popularly  regarded  as  an  accomplishment  rather  than  as 
a  vice.  Commercial  integrity  is  almost  wholly  unknown, 
except  where  fair  dealing  is  the  most  profitable  rule  of 
business.  The  sacerdotal  orders  are  by  no  means  free 
from  the  practices  of  deception.  The  holiest  men  of  the 
priesthood,  who  spend  their  lives  in  chanting  prayers  and 
counting  the  rosary,  will  not  hesitate  at  the  most  out- 
rageous mendacity,  while  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  this 
fact  seems  to  derogate  nothing  from"  their  sacred  character. 
The  Chinese  have  succeeded  in  devising  a  wise  system  of 
laws,  and  no  pagan  country  in  the  world  could  be  better 
governed  if  the  conduct  and  probity  of  the  officers  wen: 
only  answerable  to  the  institution  of  the  government.  But 
the  ruling  classes  are  unjust,  extortionate,  and  thoroughly 
corrupt.  The  inferior  officers  constantly  aim  at  def'raud- 
10 


218  THE    FOREIGNER   IN   CHINA. 

ing  their  superiors,  while  these  in  turn  deceive  the  su- 
preme trihunals,  and  all  together  plot  how  to  cheat  the 
Prince,  which  they  do  in  memorials  so  full  of  cunning, 
adulation,  and  plausible  reasons,  that  the  deluded  em- 
peror frequently  takes  the  greatest  falsehoods  for  solemn 
truths.  So  thoroughly  organized  is  this  system  of  fraud, 
that  His  Majesty  rarely  or  never  knows  the  state  of  his 
own  exchequer,  nor  the  real  condition  of  any  part  of  the 
empire,  near  or  remote.  Should  the  ruling  power  attempt 
to  raise  a  popular  loan,  as  is  frequently  done  in  the  West- 
ern world,  with  promise  of  the  payment  of  annual  interest, 
the  attempt  would  prove  a  total  failure.  No  subject  would 
buy  an  evidence  of  debt  against  the  government  at  any 
price,  simply  because  there  is  no  faith  in  its  financial 
soundness  or  integrity.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
even  the  censors  are  hopelessly  corrupt,  as  their  opinions 
are  bought  and  sold,  and  their  apparent  boldness  in  de- 
nouncing errors  and  crimes  of  administration  is  designed 
more  frequently  to  cover  up  the  misconduct  of  the  parties 
accused,  or  their  own  shortcomings,  than  to  secure  hon- 
esty in  the  conduct  of  public  affairs,  and  so  these  sacred 
guardians  of  the  law  come  to  possess  no  better  claim  to 
that  high  character  than  a  mere  title  or  name. 

Thus  we  have  before  us  the  startling  fact  that,  not- 
withstanding the  prominence  given  to  equity  and  truth 
in  the  accepted  system  of  Confucian  ethics,  the  spirit  of 
injustice  and  deception  pervades  the  entire  fabric  of  Chi- 
nese society.  But  this  is  not  all.  Possessing  more  vir- 
tues than  most  heathen  nations,  this  people  at  the  same 
time  exhibit  all  the  lineaments  of  a  fallen  and  depraved 
nature.  They  are  ostentatiously  polite,  and  hold  "  pro- 
priety," or  the  rules  of  etiquette,  in  high  esteem;  yet,  no 


PROTESTANT    MISSIONS    NOT    A    FAILURE.  219 

sooner  is  the  exterior  polish  off.  than  the  rudeness,  bru- 
tality and  coarseness  of  the  material  is  seen.  With  a 
general  regard  for  outward  decency,  they  have  many  vile 
and  polluting  habits.  Their  conversation  abounds  in  filthy 
expressions,  especially  when  anger  or  resentment  are  ex- 
cited. The  mother  will  address  the  daughter,  in  the  hear- 
ing of  her  neighbors,  with  the  most  foul  and  revolting 
language.  In  street  quarrels  and  public"  disputes  the  same 
kind  of  language  is  used,  and  the  ears  of  the  passer-by 
are  frequently  assailed  by  imprecations  reeking  with  the 
very  essence  of  bestiality  and  corruption.  The  general 
worship  of  devils,  deified  men,  and  false  gods;  the  univer- 
sal habit  of  lying  and  dishonest  dealing  ;  the  widespread 
existence  of  polygamy,  poisoning  with  its  bitter  waters 
the  very  fountain-head  of  social  virtue  ;  the  practice  of 
female  infanticide,  openly  confessed  in  many  parts  of  the 
country,  and  nowhere  visited  with  the  penalties  of  law; 
the  unblushing  lewdness  of  old  and  young;  the  barbarous 
cruelty  of  officers  of  justice  toward  prisoners,  and  the 
prevalence  of  all  the  vices  charged  by  the  Apostle  Paul 
upon  the  ancient  heathen  world, —  these  conspire  to  place 
before  our  minds  a  true  picture  of  the  desolating  horrors 
of  heathenism. 

In  the  light  of  these  facts,  then,  what  can  we  do  but 
pronounce  Confucianism  a  stupendous  failure?  It  not 
only  has  been  unable  to  discover  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant truths  necessary  to  a  complete  system  of  morals, 
but  has  failed  to  conserve  the  knowledge  of  God  handed 
down  from  the  ancients.  Moi*e  than  this:  while  it  has 
proven  unequal  to  the  task  of  lifting  man  to  the  higher 
plane  of  moral  and  intellectual  life,  it  has  not  even  made 
the   attempt  to  deliver   him   from    the  chains   of  supersti- 


220  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

tion,  nor  can  it  furnish  an  antidote  for  the  malady  of 
sin.  Here  is  a  great  and  overwhelming  fact,  the  full 
knowledge  of  which  is  only  just  beginning  to  dawn  upon 
our  age.  China,  with  a  teeming  population  embracing  one- 
third  part  of  the  human  species,  stands  as  "the  Methu- 
selah of  the  nations."  Proud  of  a  vain  philosophy  and 
an  empty  faith,  and  supposing  them  to  embody  all  the 
wealth  of  knowledge  and  wisdom,  this  people  boastingly 
say,  "  we  are  rich,  and  increased  with  goods,  and  have 
need  of  nothing,"  knowing  not  that  they  are  "  wretched, 
and  miserable,  and  poor,  and  blind,  and  naked." 

Thus  the  "  land  of  Sinim "  appears  to  the  Christian 
world,  after  the  experiment  of  sixty  generations,  yielding 
an  elocpaent  though  unconscious  testimony  to  the  wisdom 
of  God's  plan  of  salvation.  The  high  priests  of  paganism 
must  needs  have  their  turn  first,  as  they  vainly  endeavor 
to  call  down  fire  from  heaven;  while  Christianity,  Elijah- 
like, patiently  waits  for  the  time  of  the  evening  sacrifice, 
and  until  the  devotees  of  idolatry  have  become  faint  from 
their  self-inflicted  torture  and  maceration.  Now  she  comes 
forward,  builds  her  altar,  and  displays  upon  it  the  glori- 
ous Cross, —  that  hallowed  symbol  of  the  world's  hope, — 
while  God  answers  by  pouring  out  his  Spirit  to  regen- 
erate and  save  a  fallen  race. 


CHAPTER  XTTI. 

THE  TI-PING   INSURRECTION. 

f  I  AHIS  remarkable  movement,  which  at  one  time  excited 
-*-  much  interest  in  Western  lands,  originated  with  a 
man  named  Hung  Sew-tseuen,  son  of  a  humble  peasant 
residing  in  a  village  near  Canton.  On  the  occasion  of  one 
of  his  visits  to  the  provincial  city,  probably  in  the  year 
1833,  he  appears  to  have  seen  a  foreign  Protestant  mis- 
sionary addressing  the  populace  in  the  streets,  assisted  by 
a  native  interpreter.  Either  then  or  on  the  following 
day  he  received  from  some  tract-distributor  a  book  enti- 
tled "Good  Words  for  Exhorting  the  Age,"  which  con- 
sisted of  essays  and  sermons  by  Leang  A-fah,  a  well  known 
convert  and  evangelist.  Taking  the  volume  home  with 
him,  he  looked  it  over  with  some  interest,  but  carelessly 
laid  it  aside  in  his  book-case.  A  few  years  afterward  he 
attended  for  the  second  time  the  competitive  literary  ex- 
amination with  high  hopes  of  honor  and  distinction,  hav- 
ing already  passed  with  much  credit  the  lower  examina- 
tion in  the  district  city.  His  ambitious  venture,  however, 
met  with  severe  disappointment,  and  he  returned  to  his 
friends  sick  in  mind  and  body.  During  this  state  of 
mental  depression  and  physical  infirmity,  which  continued 
for  some  forty  days,  he  had  certain  strange  visions,  in 
which  he  received  commands  from  heaven  to  destroy  the 
idols.  These  fancied  revelations  seem  to  have  produced  a 
deep  impression  on  his  mind,  and  led  to  a  certain  gravity 

221 


222  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

of  demeanor  after  his  recovery  and  return  to  his  qniet 
occupation  as  a  student  and  village  schoolmaster.  When 
the  English  war  broke  out,  and  foreigners  swept  up  Can- 
ton River  with  their  wonderful  fire-ships  and  other  irre- 
sistible engines  of  war,  and  when,  eventually,  the  treaty 
was  published  showing  that  trade  had  been  resumed  at 
Canton  free  from  former  restrictions,  and  that  four  great 
marts  had  been  thrown  open  in  the  northern  provinces, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  Hung  should  have  had  his  at- 
tention again  attracted  to  the  Christian  publication  which 
had  lain  so  long  neglected  in  his  library.  Curiosity  to 
learn  something  of  the  religious  views  entertained  by  the 
powerful  nations  of  the  West,  gave  place  to  astonishment 
and  a  profound  interest  when  he  discovered  in  this  book 
what  seemed  to  be  a  key  to  the  visions  which  had  come 
to  him  during  his  sickness  six  years  before.  The  writ- 
ings of  Leang  A-fah  contained  chapters  from  the  Old  and 
New  Testament  Scriptures,  which  he  found  to  correspond  in 
a  striking  manner  with  the  preternatural  sights  and  voices 
of  that  memorable  period  in  his  history;  and  this  strange 
coincidence  convinced  him  of  their  truth,  and  of  his  being 
divinely  appointed  to  restore  the  world,  that  is,  China,  to 
the  worship  of  the  true  God. 

Hung  Sew-tseuen  accepted  his  mission  and  began  at 
once  the  work  of  propagating  the  faith  he  had  espoused. 
Among  his  first  converts  was  one  Fung  Yun-san,  who  be- 
came a  most  ardent  missionary  and  disinterested  preacher. 
These  two  leaders  of  the  movement  traveled  far  and  near 
through  the  country,  teaching  the  people  of  all  classes 
and  forming  a  society  of  God- worshipers.  All  the  converts 
renounced  idolatry  and  gave  up  the  worship  of  Confucius. 
Hung,  at  this  time  apparently  a  sincere  and  earnest  seeker 


THE   TI-PING    INSURRECTION.  223 

after  truth,  went  to  Canton  and  placed  himself  under  the 
instructions  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Roberts,  an  American  mis- 
sionary, who  for  some  cause  fearing  that  his  novitiate 
might  be  inspired  by  mercenary  motives,  denied  him  the 
rite  of  baptism.  But,  without  being  offended  at  this  cold 
and  suspicious  treatment,  he  went  home  and  taught  his 
converts  how  to  baptize  themselves.  The  God-worshipers 
rapidly  increased  in  number,  and  were  known  and  feared 
as  zealous  iconoclasts.  Some  of  them  were  arrested  for 
destroying  idols,  among  whom  was  Fung  Yun-San  him- 
self, who,  however,  on  his  way  to  prison,  converted  his 
police-guard,  and  they  not  only  set  him  at  liberty  but 
went  with  him  as  his  disciples. 

During  a  temporary  absence  of  the  two  leaders  from 
the  central  assembly  at  Thistle-mount,  the  religious  move- 
ment first  began  to  assume  its  extreme  fanatical  phase.* 
It  sometimes  happened  that  while  the  people  were  kneel- 
ing in  prayer  one  or  anotber  present  would  be  seized  by 
a  sudden  fit  and  fall  prostrate,  the  whole  body  covered 
with  perspiration.  In  such  a  state  of  ecstasy,  moved  by 
"  the  spirit,"  he  would  utter  words  of  exhortation,  reproof, 
and  prophecy,  generally  in  rhythm,  but  the  words  often 
being  unintelligible.  The  brethren  noted  down  in  a  book 
the  more  remarkable  of  these  sayings,  and  presented  them 
for  inspection  to  Hung  when  that  personage  had  returned 
from  one  of  his  tours.  The  latter  "judged  the  spirits 
according  to  the  truth  of  the  doctrine,  and  declared  that 
the  words  of  those  moved  were  partly  true  and  partly 
false,11  having  their  inspiration  both  from  God  and  from 
the  Devil.  An  obscure  man  by  the  name  of  Yang,  who 
had  joined  the  congregation  with  much  earnestness,  sud- 

*  "  The  Chinese  and  their  Rebellions,"  by  T.  T.  Meadows,  pp.  OM-105. 


22A  THE   FOREIGNER    IX    CHINA. 

denly  lost  his  power  of  speech,  and  was  dumb  for  a  period 
of  two  months,  after  which  he  spoke  in  the  name  of  God 
the  Father,  and  in  a  solemn  and  awe-inspiring  manner 
reproved  the  sins  of  the  people,  frequently  pointing  out 
individuals  and  exposing  their  evil  actions.  He  was 
thought  to  possess  the  gift  of  healing,  by  intercession 
for  the  sick.  Seaou,  another  inspired  prophet,  was  accus- 
tomed to  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  The  fact  that 
Hung  acknowledged  these  two  men  as  communicators  of 
the  divine  will  is  strong  presumptive  proof  of  his  own 
sincerit}T,  for  if  he  had  been  a  deliberate  impostor  he 
would  scarcely  have  tolerated  a  state  of  things  which 
must  have  threatened  the  divided  allegiance  of  the  people. 
These  two  proselytes  were  subsequently  each  invested  with 
a  high  dignity,  it  being  distinctly  stated  of  them  respect- 
ively that  ''  when  the  Heavenly  Father  comes  down  into 
the  world  to  instruct  the  people,  his  sacred  will  is  deliv- 
ered by  the  mouth  of  the  Eastern  Prince,1'  and  that  "  when 
the  Heavenly  Brother,  Jesus,  comes  down  into  the  world 
to  instruct  the  people,  his  sacred  will  is  delivered  by  the 
mouth  of  the  Western  Prince." 

For  a  year  after  Hung  Sew-tseuen  had  rejoined  the 
God-worshipers  that  society  retained  its  exclusively  relig- 
ious nature,  but  in  the  autumn  of  1850  it  was  brought 
into  direct  collision  with  the  civil  magistrates,  when  the 
movement  assumed  a  political  character  of  the  highest 
aims.  Hung  had  been  accustomed  to  assert  his  authority 
as  Heaven's  Commissioner  and  to  preach  against  all  oppo- 
sition with  stern  vehemence.  He  violently  destroyed  a 
much-revered  idol  in  Kwang-si,  declaring  that  "  too  much 
patience  and  humility  do  not  suit  our  present  times,  for 
therewith    it   would    be    impossible   to    manage   this    per- 


THE   TI-PING    INSURRECTION".  225 

verted  generation."  The  demolition  of  a  number  of  im- 
ages by  bis  fanatical  adherents  finally  incensed  the  gen- 
eral population  and  provoked  the  local  authorities  to 
take  measures  to  suppress  the  dangerous  sect. 

About  this  time  a  British  squadron,  near  the  southern 
extremity  of  the  empire,  had  finally  succeeded  in  driving 
some  two  thousand  pirates  from  their  predatory  life  on 
the  sea  to  a  lawless  career  on  shore,  where,  combining 
with  the  banditti  of  southeastern  China,  they  soon  became 
a  force  sufficiently  strong  to  take  and  keep  the  field  as 
avowed  rebels  against  the  Manchoo  dynasty.  Kwang- 
tung,  of  which  Canton  is  the  vice-regal  city,  is  composed, 
in  part,  of  a  high,  mountainous  region  inhabited  by  tribes 
best  known  as  the  Meaou-tsze,  who  are  thought  to  be  the 
aboriginal  race.  The  valleys  and  plains  of  the  province 
constitute  the  portion  of  the  country  last  occupied  by 
Chinese  colonists,  and  there  appears  to  have  been  two 
immigrations,  with  an  interval  of  time  between  them 
long  enough  to  give  rise  to  a  distinction  known  to  this 
day  in  the  terms  Pun-te,  or  "  natives,"  and  Kih-kea,  or 
"strangers."  The  latter  had  been  settled  for  several 
generations  in  the  province,  and  although  possessing  nu- 
merous towns  and  villages,  they  were  neither  so  numer- 
ous nor  so  opulent  as  the  "native"  Kwang-tung  people. 
The  rebel  horde  were  nearly  all  Kih-kcas,  and  it  was 
among  this  distinctive  class  of  "strangers"  that  Ilnng 
and  his  associates  had  made  the  most  of  their  converts. 
Nothing  could  be  more  natural  than  that  these  parties, 
who  were  both  alike  pursued  and  threatened  by  the  im- 
perial forces,  and  who  also  possessed  a  still  stronger  bond 
of  sympathy    in   their   traditions   and   dialect,  should    be 


226  THE    FOREIGN  KK    IN    CHINA. 

brought  together  in  close  alliance  and  eventually  become 
co-religionists. 

The  right  to  rebel  is  in  China  thought  to  be  a  chief 
element  of  national  stability.  So  long  as  the  occupant 
of  the  throne  rules  with  the  rectitude  and  goodness  which 
are  in  imitation  of  T'een-taou,  or  the  "  way  of  heaven," 
both  man  and  nature  are  held  in  submissive  harmony. 
But  when  he  violates  the  principles  of  supreme  justice, 
the  passions  of  men  and  the  powers  of  the  elements  alike 
break  away  from  all  bounds  of  restraint.  The  disasters 
of  war,  pestilence,  and  famine, —  even  earthquakes  and 
storms  of  extraordinary  violence, —  are  but  so  many  inti- 
mations that  Heaven  is  about  to  withdraw  from  him  the 
Divine  Commission.  Says  Mr.  Meadows,  in  speaking  of 
the  patriarchal  feature  of  the  government,  "  In  truth,  the 
analogy  between  the  family  and  the  state  does  not  hold 
good  on  Chinese  views  themselves.  In  China,  sons  never 
have  the  right  to  resist  the  cruelties  of  the  most  tyran- 
nical father  :  by  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  deeply  rooted 
of  the  national  doctrines,  the  people  have  the  distinct 
right  to  depose  and  put  to  death  a  tyrannical  emperor. 
And  this  very  departure  from  the  strict  patriarchality  is 
one  of  the  causes  of  the  stability  of  the  nation  :  it  is 
thereby  permitted  to  free  itself  from  tyrannical  govern- 
ment, which,  if   prolonged,  would  cause  its  destruction." 

The  Manchoo  garrisons,  or  bannermen,  who  had  so  long 
held  residence  in  the  country,  had  greatly  deteriorated  in 
their  military  virtues  while  they  still  retained  enough  of 
the  insolence  of  conquerors  to  awaken,  on  occasions,  the 
hatred  of  the  Chinese.  The  practice  of  selling  offices  of 
trust  and  honor  to  men  who  had  wealth  but  were  desti- 
tute   of    literary    and    other    essential    qualifications,   was 


THE   TI-PING   INSUKKECTION.  227 

steadily  increasing.  The  maxims  of  ancient  wisdom  were 
no  longer  faithfully  recommended  by  the  censors  of  the 
empire,  nor  were  they  observed  in  the  administration. 
The  weakness  and  misrule  of  the  Tartars  had  subjected 
large  portions  of  the  country  to  robbery  and  anarchy  ; 
while  their  prestige  was  greatly  shaken  by  the  shock  they 
had  sustained  from  British  arms.  As  an  educated  Chinese, 
Hung  Sew-tseuen  must  have  called  to  mind  the  teaching 
of  the  Sacred  Books,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  people  to 
overthrow  any  bad  government;  and  it  is  conceivable  that 
a  man  of  his  character  and  singular  experience  should 
feel  a  mighty  impulse  to  add  the  functions  of  patriotic 
insurgent  to  those  of  religious  reformer,  since  the  call 
and  the  opportunity  to  do  so  were  thrust  upon  him  with 
extraordinary  emphasis. 

Early  in  the  year  1853,  the  movement  had  acquired 
large  proportions,  and  the  continued  success  of  the  Ti- 
pings  strengthened  the  conviction  in  their  minds  of  the 
exalted  character  of  their  leader,  concerning  whom  they 
were  emboldened  to  issue  the  following  proclamation  : 
"  Our  Heavenly  Prince  has  received  the  Divine  Commis- 
sion to  exterminate  the  Manchoos, —  to  exterminate  them 
utterly,  men,  women,  and  children, —  to  exterminate  all 
idolaters  generally,  and  to  possess  the  Empire  as  its  true 
sovereign.  It,  and  everything  in  it,  is  his:  its  mountains 
and  rivers,  its  broad  lands  and  public  treasuries;  you, 
and  all  that  you  have,  your  family,  males  and  females 
from  yourself  to  your  youngest  child,  and  your  property 
from  your  patrimonial  estates  to  the  bracelet  on  your 
infant's  arm.  We  command  the  services  of  all,  and  we 
take  everything.  All  who  resist  us  are  rebels  and  i<l"l;i- 
trous  demons,  and    we    kill    them   without   sparing  ;    but 


JJ>;  THE    FOREIGNER    IX    china. 

whoever  acknowledges  our  Heavenly  Prince  and  exerts 
himself  in  our  service  shall  have  full  reward, —  due  honor 
and  station  in  the  armies  and  Court  of  the  Heavenly 
Dynasty."  *  At  one  time  two  noted  female  rebel  chiefs, 
each  at  the  head  of  about  two  thousand  followers,  joined 
the  insurgents,  after  submitting  to  the  authority  of  their 
Prince  and  the  rules  of  the  congregation.  They  were 
placed  at  a  distance  from  the  main  body  of  the  Ti-ping 
army,  to  serve  as  outposts,  one  on  each  side.  Eight  chiefs 
of  the  famed  Triad  Society,  with  their  respective  bands, 
were  also  received,  under  the  covenant  to  conform  to  the 
worship  of  the  true  God.  During  the  twelve  months' 
progress  of  Hung  from  Kwang-si  northward  to  Nanking, 
the  accessions  of  strength  from  all  sources  had  been  such 
as  to  enable  him  to  invest  that  city  with  at  least  five 
armies  of  about  fourteen  thousand  men  each. 

Nothing  could  be  more  sublime  than  the  courage  and 
general  bearing  of  the  great  chieftain,  as  he  organized 
and  led  on  the  adventurous  host.  Styling  himself  the 
"  One  Man,"  the  "  Son  of  Heaven,"  to  whom  the  "  exter- 
minating decree "  had  been  entrusted,  he  demanded  the 
implicit  faith  and  obedience  of  all.  He  would  sometimes 
say  to  his  more  timid  and  fearful  generals:  "  The  Heavenly 
Father  has  given  me  this  Middle  Kingdom.  The  eighteen 
provinces  are  mine.  I  do  not  depend  upon  you  for  suc- 
cess. I  can  do  without  you;  but  you  cannot  exist  with- 
out me.  Should  you  all  forsake  me,  my  cause  must 
triumph.  Begone!  The  Heavenly  Father  mightily  reign- 
eth,  therefore  my  dynasty  shall  exist  forever;  the  Elder 
Brother  bears  my  burden,  therefore  the  Celestial  Hall 
shall  be  full  of   glory,  forever  full    of    glory  !"     In    this 

*  Meadows'  "Chinese  and  their  Rebellions,"  pp.  149-50. 


THE  TI-PING  insurrection.  229 

grandiloquent  manner  be  asserted  that  the  possession  of 
the  empire  was  with  him  a  mere  question  of  time;  and 
his  followers,  with  an  enthusiastic  esprit  de  corps,  believed 
in  the  justice  of  his  cause  and  the  divinity  of  his  mission. 

Traversing  the  northern  part  of  the  province  of 
Kwang-si,  the  whole  of  Ho-nan  and  Hoo-peh,  and  from 
Woo-chang  down  the  Great  River,  a  total  distance  of 
about  one  thousand  miles,  this  march  of  the  Ti-ping  foi'ces 
was  a  most  remarkable  military  achievement.  They  first 
attacked  individuals  and  towns  which  had  opposed  and 
persecuted  them  on  account  of  their  religion,  obtaining 
from  these  needed  supplies  of  food  and  clothing.  When 
towns  or  cities  submitted  to  their  authority  without  oppo- 
sition, they  were  treated  with  leniency;  but  indiscrimi- 
nate slaughter  awaited  all  who  denied  and  resisted  their 
claims.  The  imperial  troops  sent  to  suppress  the 
insurrection  were  completely  routed.  Before  battle,  the 
followers  of  the  Chinese  Prophet  often  knelt  in  the  open 
fields  to  invoke  the  protection  and  assistance  of  Heaven,  and 
then  charged  upon  their  enemies  with  fanatical  zeal  and  re- 
sistless power.  City  after  city  fell  before  their  triumphant 
march,  and  the  whole  empire  regarded  with  astonishment 
and  dismay  the  progress  of  these  conquering  legions. 

Seldom  has  history  placed  under  our  observation  a  more 
impressive  exhibition  of  the  religious  sentiment  dominated 
by  error  and  superstition  than  was  presented  among  the 
Ti-pings  while  encamped  before  Nanking,  and  for  some 
time  after  they  had  gained  possession  of  that  important 
city.  They  professed  faith  in  the  Old  ami  New  Testament 
Scriptures,  and  an  imperfect  translation  of  these  was 
printed  and  circulated  gratuitously  by  the  authorities;* 
• " Ti-ping  T'een-kwoh,11  bj  Lin-li,  vol.  I,  p  :;ui;. 


230  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

the  head  of  the  insurrection  distinctly  announcing  that,  in 
the  event  of  final  success,  the  Bible  would  be  substituted 
for  Confucius  in  all  public  examinations  for  official  posi- 
tion. Abstracts  of  the  sacred  volume,  put  into  verse,  were 
circulated  and  committed  to  memory.  Forms  of  prayer 
to  the  Supreme  Being  were  in  constant  use,  both  publicly 
and  in  private.  The  Sabbath  was  strictly  observed  on  the 
seventh  day,  all  ordinary  business  being  suspended,  and 
religious  worship  and  instruction  maintained  both  in  camp 
and  in  the  temples.  Divine  service  usually  opened  with  a 
doxology  to  God,  Jesus,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  after  which 
the  following  hymn  was  sung: 

"  The  true  doctrine  is  different  from  the  doctrine  of  this  world ; 
It  saves  meu's  souls  and  gives  eternal  bliss. 
The  wise  receive  it  instantly  with  joy; 
The  foolish,  wakened  by  it,  find  the  way  to  Heaven. 
Our  Heavenly  Father,  of  his  great  mercy, 
Did  not  spare  his  own  Son,  but  sent  him  down 
To  give  his  life  to  redeem  sinners. 
When  men  know  this,  and  repent,  they  may  go  to  Heaven." 

Three  cups  of  tea  were  placed  on  the  altar  as  an  offering 
to  the  sacred  Trinity.  The  further  services  consisted  of 
reading  the  Scriptures  and  a  sermon,  the  repetition  of  a 
creed  by  the  congregation  standing,  and  of  a  written 
prayer  by  the  whole  congregation  kneeling,  when  the  paper 
containing  the  petition  thus  offered  was  burned,  an  anthem 
chanted  to  the  long  life  of  the  Prince,  followed  by  the  Ten 
Commandments,  music,  and  the  burning  of  incense  with 
fire- crackers.  The  clergy  were  chosen  by  competitive  ex- 
amination, and  each  minister  had  under  his  spiritual  juris- 
diction twenty-five  families,  with  a  church,  or  "heavenly 
hall,"  assigned  to  him  in  some  public  building.    Over  every 


THE   TI-PING    INSURRECTION.  231 

twenty-five  parishes  there  was  a  superior,  who  visited  them 
in  turn  on  Sabbath  days;  while  once  a  month  the  whole 
people  were  addressed  by  the  Teen-wong,  or  Great  High 
Priest.  Before  seating  themselves  to  repast,  all  the  people 
in  their  houses  and  the  whole  army  were  accustomed  to 
reverent  recitation  of  some  passage  from  one  of  their 
sacred  books.  In  times  of  danger  the  females  were  placed 
in  positions  of  safety,  as  far  as  possible,  and  guarded  from 
all  improper  intrusions;  and  this  was  consistent  with  their 
custom  of  punishing  with  death  the  brutal  crimes  against 
women  to  which  they  are  usually  exposed  in  the  storming 
of  cities.  An  Englishman,  who  served  as  special  agent  of 
the  Genei-al-in-Chief,  and  who  afterward  published  the 
"Ti-ping  T'een-kwoh,"  under  his  Chinese  name,  Lin-le, 
describing  his  attendance  on  morning  prayers  in  the 
"heavenly  hair'  of  the  Chung- wong's  household,  which 
took  place  at  sunrise,  the  men  and  women  sitting  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  apartment,  says:  "Oftentimes,  while 
kneeling  in  the  midst  of  an  apparently  devout  congrega- 
tion, and  gazing  on  the  upturned  countenances  lightened 
by  the  early  morning  sun,  have  I  wondered  why  no  British 
missionary  occupied  my  place,  and  why  Europeans  gener- 
ally preferred  slaughtering  the  Ti-pings  to  accepting  them 
as  brothers  in  Christ.  When  I  look  back,"  he  adds,  "  on 
the  unchangeable  and  universal  kindness  I  always  met 
with  among  the  Ti-pings,  even  when  their  dearest  relatives 
were  being  slaughtered  by  my  countrymen,  or  delivered 
over  to  the  Manchoos  to  be  tortured  to  death,  their  mag- 
nanimous forbearance  seems  like  a  dream.  Their  kind  and 
friendly  feelings  were  often  annoying.  To  those  \vli<>  have 
experienced  the  ordinary  dislike  of  foreigners  by  the  Chi- 
nese, the  surprising  friendliness  of  the  Ti-pings  was  most 


232  THE    FOREIGNER   IN   CHINA. 

remarkable.  They  welcomed  Europeans  as 'brethren  from 
across  the  sea,'  and  claimed  them  as  fellow-worshipers  of 
'Yesu.'"* 

Before  the  attack  on  Nanking,  a  large  body  of  the  more 
faithful  and  devout  insurgents  knelt  in  prayer,  and  then 
rose  and  fought  with  invincible  courage,  having  refused 
the  aid  of  a  large  body  of  rebels  because  they  did  not 
renounce  idolatry  and  continued  to  allow  the  use  of  opium. 
The  city  having  been  carried  at  length,  and  the  whole 
Tartar  garrison  put  to  death,  Hung  Sew-tseuen  resolved  to 
make  this  the  capital  of  his  new  kingdom,  and  attempt  the 
gigantic  task  of  subjugating  the  empire.  Four  leading  cit- 
ies of  Central  China  were  speedily  occupied,  two  of  which, 
Chin-kiang  and  Kwa-chow,  constituted  together  a  most 
commanding  military  position,  when  the  Ti-pings  acted 
remorselessly  on  the  lofty  pretensions  and  claims  of  the 
Heavenly  Prince  to  the  persons  and  property  of  all  Chinese. 
They  seized  the  entire  population  within  reach,  with  every- 
thing of  the  slightest  value,  and  transported  all  to  Nan- 
king, excepting  the  garrisons  which  were  left  in  the  other 
three  cities.  The  men  were  organized  into  armies  and 
dispatched  in  various  directions;  while  their  aged  parents, 
their  wives,  sisters,  and  children,  were  detained  at  the 
capital,  and  kept  as  hostages  for  the  fidelity  of  their  rela- 
tives in  the  field.  The  march  from  the  south  to  Nanking 
was  now  to  be  exceeded  in  brilliancy  by  a  movement  toward 
the  northern  seat  of  empire.  The  very  day  on  which  the 
Ti-ping  army  left  the  banks  of  the  Yang-tsz-Kiang,  all 
communication  with  its  friends  and  the  base  of  supplies 
was  cut  off,  with  the  exception  of  such  irregular  corre- 
spondence as  could  be  maintained  by  disguised  messengers. 

*"Ten  Great  Religions,"  by  James  Freeman  Clarke,  pp.  64-67. 


THE   TI-PING    INSURRECTION.  233 

A  strong  force  of  imperialists  followed  the  advancing  host 
as  it  perseveringly  made  its  way  northward  in  spite  of  the 
inclement  weather  and  various  accumulating  difficulties. 
Swerving  first  to  the  west,  then  to  the  east,  but  never 
turning  southward,  the  march  was  maintained  during  a 
period  of  six  months.  Beleaguered  b}'  their  more  numer- 
ous and  more  efficient  foes  at  Tsing-hai,  the  rebels  yet 
maintained  their  position  while  an  auxiliary  army  was 
being  sent  to  their  relief  from  Nanking.  The  united  forces 
continued  their  progress  toward  Peking,  until  their  near 
approach  threatened  with  imminent  peril  the  Dragon 
Throne  itself,  and  spread  dismay  among  the  servants  of  the 
Emperor.  But  they  were  finally  repulsed  with  great 
slaughter,  the  struggle  leaving  a  wide  extent  of  country  in 
a  state  of  ruin  and  distress,  the  insurgents  and  imperialists 
seeming  to  vie  with  each  other  in  their  efforts  to  harass 
and  plunder  the  people. 

Although  the  sympathies  of  the  Christian  world  had 
been  enlisted  for  this  great  uprising  among  a  heathen 
people,  so  characterized  at  first  by  sincere  religious  senti- 
ment, it  had  no  more  practical  numifestation  than  a  few 
feeble  and  unsuccessful  attempts  on  the  part  of  mission- 
aries to  reach  with  their  influence  the  ill-taught  Ti-pings; 
and  finally  the  whole  might  of  Western  civilization  was 
thrown  in  the  scale  against  the  attempted  revolution. 
The  fact  that  the  use  of  opium  was  utterly  prohibited  by 
the  government  at  Nanking  doubtless  had  a  Btrong  in- 
fluence in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  English  merchants, 
and  the  European  powers  through  their  consular  agent 
were  controlled  by  the  demands  of  commerce.  The  ports 
open  to  foreign  trade  became  the  base  of  operations 
against  the    insurgents,  and  the  imperial   cause   was    rein- 


234  T1IH    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

forced  by  detachments  of  British  and  French  troops.  The 
Hritish  cruisers  treated  the  Ti-ping  junks  as  pirates  be- 
cause they  captured  Chinese  vessels.  They  were  also  en- 
gaged in  repeated  transactions  when  these  junks  were 
destroyed,  and  their  men  shot,  drowned,  and  hunted  down; 
in  one  instance  giving  up  a  crew  they  had  captured 
to  be  put  to  death.  The  British  soldiers  and  navy  took 
part  in  forty-three  battles  and  massacres,  in  which  about 
four  hundred  thousand  Ti-pings  were  killed,  and  upward 
of  two  millions  more  died  of  starvation  in  the  famine 
occasioned  by  the  operations  of  the  allied  English,  French 
and  Chinese  troops.*  Gen.  Ward,  an  American,  drilled  a 
force  of  twenty-five  hundred  natives  after  the  foreign 
style,  the  organization  being  enlarged  and  rendered  more 
eifective  under  Gen.  Burgevine,  another  American.  The 
"  Ever-victorious  Army,"  commanded  by  Col.  Gordon,  of 
England,  operating  in  the  province  of  Kiang-su,  and  a 
French-drilled  force  in  Che-kiang,  dealt  rapid  and  decisive 
blows  at  the  expiring  life  of  the  rebellion. 

Hoping  to  retrieve  their  waning  fortunes,  the  rebels  at 
one  time  endeavored  to  take  possession  of  the  coast  prov- 
inces and  avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  the  com- 
merce of  their  ports.  They  were  so  far  successful  as  to 
occupy  both  Shanghai  and  Ningpo,  but  were  compelled  by 
English  troops,  aided  by  the  Chinese,  to  abandon  those 
cities.  Notwithstanding  their  intercourse  with  and  treat- 
ment by  foreign  nations  might  have  justly  embittered 
their  minds  and  given  rise  to  resentment  and  retaliation, 
foreign  residents  in  Ningpo  and  foreign  travelers  who 
visited  them  in  the  interior  were  almost  invariably  received 
with  cordiality,  and  treated  with  respect  and  kindness. 

*  " Intervention  aud  Non-intervention,"  by  A.  G.  Stapleton. 


THE   TI-PING    INSURRECTION".  235 

Driven  out  of  every  other  stronghold,  the  insurgent 
forces  retired  to  Nanking,  when  the  doomed  city  was  com- 
pletely invested  by  an  immense  army.  In  July,  1864,  the 
last  hope  of  the  Ti-ping,  or  "  Universal  Peace "  dynasty, 
was  extinguished  in  the  fall  and  destruction  of  its  capi- 
tal. Three  days  were  given  up  to  the  dreadful  work  of 
slaughter;  nevertheless,  many  who  escaped  the  edge  of  the 
sword  fled  to  different  parts  of  the  country  and  joined 
predatory  bands,  or  returned  to  their  peaceful  homes  in 
the  South.  Hung  Sew-tseuen,  the  rebel  chief,  had  com- 
mitted suicide,  but  his  remains  were  exhumed  from  the 
ruins  of  his  palace,  the  head  severed  and  exposed  for  pub- 
lic inspection,  and  the  remainder  of  the  body  cut  in  pieces 
and  afterward  burned.  The  "  Young  Lord,"  Hung  Fu- 
teen,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  dignity  of  his  father,  en- 
circled himself  with  a  funeral  pile,  intending  to  fire  it 
when  the  city  fell ;  but  finally,  amid  the  general  confu- 
sion, effected  his  escape  with  a  number  of  followers.  He 
was  afterward  captured  and  condemned  to  suffer  a  slow 
and  ignominious  death  in  the  provincial  city  of  Kiang-si.* 

The  august  head  of  the  Empire  made  no  acknowledg- 
ment in  his  public  decrees  of  the  foreign  assistance  he 
had  received,  but  piously  ascribed  the  success  of  his  armies 
to  the  gods  of  the  hills  and  streams,  who  had  given  their 
efficient  protection  and  guidance.  Announcing  the  over- 
throw of  rebellion  in  a  formal  edict,  the  youthful  sover- 
eign thus  revealed  to  his  faithful  subjects  the  anxiety  that 
had  long  oppressed  the  imperial   mind. 

"At  the  period  when  His  Majesty  the  Late  Emperor 
came  to  the  throne,  it  happened  that  the  Canton  rebels 
had  risen  in  Insurrection  and  spread  devastation  through 
•  "Autobiography  of  the  Chnng-wong,"  translated  bj  W.  T.  Lay,  pp,  B8,  liw. 


286  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

many  cities.  The  army  was  at  once  put  in  motion  in 
order  to  carry  out  the  dictates  of  Heaven;  but,  although 
many  desperate  rebels  were  extirpated,  nevertheless  their 
influence  diffused  itself  around,  and  it  was  found  impossi- 
ble at  once  to  put  them  down.  Our  Imperial  Sire  was 
filled  with  anguish  and  care  day  and  night,  and  His 
thoughts  were  ever  occupied  with  the  extermination  of 
the  thieves  and  the  comfort  of  His  people.  In  mournful 
anxiety  He  looked  forward  to  the  announcement  of  victory. 

"  When  in  the  eleventh  year  of  Heen-fung,  He  sped  up- 
ward on  the  dragon  to  be  a  guest  on  high.  In  His  last 
decree  and  testament,  He  even  then  adverted  to  the  state 
of  discpuiet  still  prevalent  in  the  Southeast,  and  that  His 
people  were  being  driven  hither  and  thither  and  com- 
pelled to  fly  in  all  directions.  The  sainted  anxiety  was 
ever  troubled. 

"  On  Our  accession  to  the  important  charge  laid  upon 
Us,  We  cried  unto  Heaven  in  bitter  agony,  and  day  by 
day  did  We  watch  for  the  annihilation  of  the  great  ring- 
leader, that  so  the  boundaries  of  the  empire  might  be 
restored  to  peace,  and  the  yet  unfulfilled  will  of  Our 
Imperial  Sire  be  accomplished.  The  two  Empresses  Dow- 
ager gave  their  disinterested  attention  to  the  numerous 
state  matters,  and  instructed  and  nurtured  Ourself.  They 
were  ever  looking  for  victorious  news,  from  night  till 
morning  and  from  morning  till  night  successively. 

"  Kuan-wun  and  Tsung  Kwo-fan  having  now,  on  the 
29th  of  this  month,  announced  a  victory  and  the  recoveiy 
of  Nanking,  We  feel  grateful  to  Our  departed  Sire  for 
the  means  left  behind  him,  which  have  stimulated  Us 
to  complete  this  great  work,  and  to  celebrate  the  fame 
of  Our  ancestors.     But  in  the  midst  of  Our  joy  and  grati- 


THE   TI-PING    INSURRECTION".  237 

tude  We  are  weighed  down  with  excessive  grief.  We 
had  purposed  to  proceed  Ourself  to  the  sarcophagus 
of  the  departed  Emperor  and  there  pour  out  Our  trib- 
ute of  grief  and  affection  over  the  departed  remains; 
but  the  Empresses  Dowager  fearing  that,  as  the  Autumn 
crops  are  now  in  a  flourishing  state,  and  that  the  num- 
ber of  carriages,  etc.,  forming  Our  escort  along  the  Im- 
perial path,  will  be  sure  to  tread  down  the  people's  la- 
bor, and  moreover,  that  the  repair  and  filling  in  of  the 
road  will  seriously  disturb  the  people,  have  directed  Us 
to  appoint  the  Prince  of  Shun,  Yi-huan,  to  proceed  to 
the  Shrine  of  Glorious  Happiness,  the  resting-place  of 
the  coffin,  and  before  the  communion  table  in  front  of 
it  perform  the  necessary  ceremonies  on  Our  behalf,  and 
respectfully  announce  the  victorious  news." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OCCIDENTAL   LIFE  IX  THE  ORIENT. 

/"CANTON  is  more  widely  known  in  the  West  than  any 
other  city  of  the  Celestial  Empire.  Dotted  all  over 
with  temples  and  pagodas,  containing  many  palatial  resi- 
dences and  extensive  warehouses,  adorned  with  private 
and  public  gardens  in  which  the  floi'al  art  displays  a 
profusion  of  unicpie  and  wonderful  skill,  presenting  to 
the  habitant  as  also  to  traders  from  the  country  and  vis- 
itors from  abroad  her  places  of  amusement  and  gilded 
dens  of  vice,  displaying  in  her  restaurants  tempting 
viands  alike  to  the  hungry  traveler  and  the  leisurely 
gormand,  with  a  population  much  given  to  pleasure  and 
folly,  this  great  emporium  has  long  been  recognized  as 
the  "  Paris  of  China."  It  is  the  oldest  and,  even  to  this 
day,  the  most  difficult  center  of  missionary  operations  in 
the  whole  country.  Here  as  nowhere  else  prejudice  has 
developed  against  the  foreigner,  because  here  the  great- 
est wrongs  have  been  perpetrated  against  the  people  and 
the  government,  and  the  worst  examples  of  Christian 
civilization  have  for  generations  been  placed  under  the 
daily  observation  of  all  classes  of  native  society. 

When  the  treaty  of  1858  was  made,  French  influence 
artfully  gained  the  insertion  of  a  proviso  that  all  sites 
formerly  possessed  by  Catholic  missions  should  be  restored. 
Whereupon,  from  among  the  numerous  deeds  of  trust 
and   conveyances   of  land  forthcoming    from    the  Vatican 

238 


OCCIDENTAL    LIFE   IN"   THE    ORIENT.  239 

was  one  of  the  former  purporting  to  prove  that  a  plot 
of  eighteen  acres  in  the  heart  of  Canton  had  once  been 
possessed  by  the  agents  of  the  Church.  The  Chinese  au- 
thorities were  naturally  astounded  at  this,  as  the  site  in 
question  had  been  occupied  by  the  Government  House 
from  time  immemorial,  and  they  immediately  entered 
their  solemn  protest.  But  the  French  commander  said, 
"  If  you  have  no  power  to  give  it,  I  have  power  to  take 
it";  and  he  proceeded  to  occupy  the  premises  with  a 
military  force.  Already  reduced  to  a  heap  of  ruins  by 
the  fortunes  of  war,  all  that  remained  of  the  Chinese 
structure  soon  disappeared,  and  on  this  very  spot  arose 
in  process  of  time  a  Roman  Catholic  Cathedral,  towering 
in  solitary  state  over  the  flat-roofed  city.  So  far  from 
being  impressed  with  the  beauty  and  sacred  character 
of  the  edifice,  the  Chinese  generally  look  upon  it  as  a 
monument  of  robbery  and  a  constant  reminder  of  their 
duty  to  cherish  the  feelings  of  hatred  and  revenge. 

On  a  low,  flat  island  outside  the  city  walls,  in  the 
midst  of  a  dense  suburban  population,  but  entirely  sepa- 
rated from  the  natives  by  the  river  and  a  canal,  is  the 
far-famed  "  Shameen,"  or  foreign  settlement.  Here  are 
the  residences  and  warehouses  of  the  merchants,  the  con- 
sular and  other  official  buildings,  and  the  homes  of  some 
of  the  missionaries.  The  whole  place  is  fitted  up  in  a 
costly  and  attractive  manner,  appearing  to  the  European 
observer  like  "an  oasis  of  civilization  in  a  desert  of  bar- 
barism." The  anchorage  for  foreign  shipping  is  ;it,  Wham- 
poa,  a  reach  in  the  river  twelve  miles  below.  In  former 
years  ships  from  almost  every  great  mart  in  the  world 
were  found  ir.  these  waters,  where  the  exchange  of  mer- 
chandise  was    conducted    on   a   large    scale  ;    but   as   the 


240  TIT  E    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

neighboring  Anglo-Chinese  city  has  grown  in  magnitude 
and  importance,  Canton  has  diminished  in  relation  to 
foreign  trade. 

Near  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the  Chinese  empire, 
and  about  one  hundred  miles  from  the  famous  capital  of 
Kwang-tung  province,  lies  the  small  and  mountainous 
island  of  Hong-Kong.  When  taken  possession  of  by  the 
British,  in  18-41,  it  was  inhabited  by  a  few  native  fisher- 
men and  smugglers;  but  in  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century  European  capital  and  enterprise  have  wrought 
great  changes.  The  city  is  officially  known  under  the 
name  of  Victoria,  although  the  old  Chinese  appellation  of 
Hong-Kong  is  usually  given  to  the  whole  island  and  set- 
tlement. It  is  one  of  the  most  unique  and  beautiful  of 
oriental  cities.  The  streets  are  remarkably  clean  and 
neatly  finished.  Everything  here  is  under  strict  police 
and  military  surveillance.  A  hundred  thousand  Chinese 
on  the  island,  most  of  them  concentrated  in  Victoria,  are 
under  a  large  controlling  foreign  presence.  The  harbor 
is  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world,  and  floats  an  immense 
commerce.  In  1866  the  writer  counted  at  one  time,  from 
the  flat  roof  of  the  Stag  Hotel,  a  hundred  and  fifty 
steamers  and  sailing  vessels;  these  being  exclusive  of  the 
almost  innumerable  fleet  of  native  craft,  all  of  which  are 
duly  numbered  and  registered,  according  to  police  regu- 
lations. The  "san-pans"  are  long,  narrow,  shallow  and 
flat-bottomed  boats,  being  propelled  by  paddles,  or  a  kind 
of  oar,  and  capable  of  carrying  from  two  to  twenty  per- 
sons, with  a  limited  amount  of  baggage.  Europeans  fre- 
quently apply  to  the  smaller  class  the  term  "  barber  boat," 
but  the  Chinese  name,  signifying  "  three  boards,"  from 
the  simple  form  of  construction,  is  also  in  constant  use. 


OCCIDENTAL   LIFE   IN   THE    ORIENT.  241 

These  tiny  vessels  may  be  seen  at  any  hour  of  the  day 
out  on  the  harbor  and  along  the  bund,  passing  and  re- 
passing like  cabs  in  the  streets  of  London  or  New  York. 
The  population  of  Victoria  includes  representatives  from 
many  parts  of  the  world, —  English,  American,  French, 
Portuguese,  Indian,  Malay,  Arabian,  and  Persian.  The 
Parsees  form  a  considerable  community,  and  some  of  them 
are  successful  and  wealthy  merchants.  In  the  morning, 
and  even  at  high  noon,  there  is  not  much  stir  in  the 
city,  except  in  the  purely  Chinese  quarter;  but,  as  the 
day  advances,  the  principal  streets  gradually  assume  a 
more  lively  aspect,  until  late  in  the  afternoon  and  well 
into  the  night,  when  a  vast  tide  of  human  life  is  seen 
pouring  through  each  main  avenue.  There  are  people 
of  almost  every  nationality  and  color,  in  costumes  odd, 
antique,  and  many-hued:  on  foot,  on  horseback,  in  sedans, 
in  phaetons;  here  and  there  a  military  or  naval  officer, 
proudly  bearing  the  insignia  of  his  rank,  with  groups  of 
common  soldiers  and  jolly  jack-tars  sauntering  in  and 
out  of  the  curiosity  shops,  or  bantering  with  fruit-vend- 
ers; now  and  then  a  foreign  lady,  dressed  ct  la  Parisienne, 
riding  in  an  open  carriage,  or  in  her  chair,  borne  by  men 
in  uniform  ;  some  hurrying  to  and  fro,  as  if  pursuing 
important  business  engagements,  some  walking  leisurely, 
with  cane  in  hand;  haughty  Parsees,  worshipers  of  the 
sun,  sporting  the  Persian  habit,  and  distinguished  by 
their  tall  glazed  hats;  half-naked  coolies,  carrying  heavy 
burdens  with  their  bamboo  poles,  in  contrast  with  the 
Celestial  gentry,  who  appear  in  long  robes,  gracefully 
waving  the  ever-present  fan;  and  native  women  in  gay 
apparel,  attracting  public  attention  by  tbeir  various  arte, — 
painted  courtesans,  whose  shameless  presence  in  the  light 
11 


242  Till:    FOREIGNER   IN   CHINA. 

of  day  and  in  the  glare  of  the  street-lamp  but  too  plainly 
uncovers  the  leprous  spot  of  Hong-Kong  society.  Over 
all  this  strange  scene,  more  fantastic  and  heterogeneous 
than  perhaps  any  other  city  in  the  world  can  present, 
the  air  is  resonant  with  the  jargon  of  many  languages, 
the  twang  of  the  banjo,  the  song  of  the  minstrel,  the  in- 
describable plaint  and  whoop  of  burden-bearers,  the  cries 
of  men  hawking  their  wares,  the  din  of  countless  rattle- 
boxes,  and  the  rush  of  wheels, —  sounds  mellifluous,  dis- 
cordant, and  ear-splitting. 

Victoria  has  been  called  "  the  city  of  palaces,"  from  its 
extensive  hongs  and  numerous  and  elegant  residences. 
The  men  who  principally  hold  its  commerce  in  their 
hands  are  real  merchant-princes.  They  furnish  their 
mansions  at  great  expense,  and  in  the  style  of  the  home 
aristocracy.  Their  tables  abound  with  every  native  and 
foreign  luxury,  and  a  liberal  hospitality  is  dispensed  to- 
ward casual  visitors  from  distant  parts  of  the  world.  The 
daily  newspaper,  theatricals,  libraries,  reading  and  lecture 
associations,  billiard-rooms,  fives  and  racket  clubs,  with 
other  sources  of  culture  and  amusement,  are  accessible  to 
every  foreigner  of  position  and  means.  Religion  is  not 
wholly  neglected,  as  divine  service  is  held  each  Lord's 
Day  in  the  English  cathedral,  and  stated  worship  is  main- 
tained in  a  dissenting  chapel  whose  pulpit  has  long  been 
supplied  by  able  divines.  Protestant  evangelism  among 
the  native  population  is  carried  on  with  vigor,  but  not 
with  marked  success.  One  important  agency  of  the  Lon- 
don Mission  is  a  publishing  house,  which  does  excellent 
work,  from  the  making  of  a  matrix  to  the  printing  and 
binding  of  a  book.  Foreign  residents  do  not  forget  that 
they  are  exiles  from  home,  as  one  may  see  from  the  words 


OCCIDENTAL   LIFE   IN"   THE   ORIENT.  243 

of  Solomon,  cut  in  large  letters  on  the  arch  over  the 
main  entrance  to  the  Post-office:  "As  cold  waters  to  a 
thirsty  soul,  so  is  good  news  from  a  far  country." 

In  the  rear  of  the  city  rises  a  mountainous  ridge, 
crowned  by  Yictoria  Peak,  which  is  a  thousand  feet  high. 
Kennedy  Road,  a  beautiful  drive  on  the  side  of  this  ele- 
vation, affords  many  magnificent  views  of  the  harbor; 
while  the  summit  commands  an  exquisite  prospect  of 
mountains,  islands,  and  land-locked  seas  on  every  hand. 
A  part  of  Happy  Valley,  a  picturesque  ravine,  is  devoted 
to  the  inevitable  English  race-course.  Here,  also,  are 
the  six  cemeteries, —  Roman  Catholic,  English  Protestant, 
Mohammedan,  Jewish,  Portuguese,  and  Zoroastrian.  In 
the  latter  may  be  seen  the  small  "  Towers  of  Silence " 
in  which  the  bodies  are  exposed  to  be  devoured  by  birds 
of  prey.  Several  of  these  cities  of  the  dead  are  beauti- 
fully laid  out  and  adorned  with  luxuriant  tropical  trees, 
plants,  and  flowers.  Not  without  significance  should  we 
regard  these  burying-places  of  many  nationalities  grouped 
together  in  this  "  Happy  Valley."  The  strange  mixture 
of  life  in  the  busy  mart,  and  the  various  races  sleeping 
quietly  at  last  without  prejudice  and  without  hatred, 
side  by  side,  when  life's  fitful  dream  is  o'er,  may  appear  to 
us  as  emblematic  of  a  common  hope  and  a  common  des- 
tiny which  the  Universal  Father  will  yet  bestow  upon  nil. 

Shanghai  reposes  on  the  banks  of  a  small  stream  which 
disembogues  its  turbid  waters  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Yang-tsz-kiang.  The  foreign  city  is  composed  of  I  In' 
English,  American,  and  French  "  Concessions,"  separal ed 
from  each  other  by  narrow  crocks.  Two  thousand  vessels 
clear  this  port  yearly,  ami  as  many  as  three  hundred 
steam  and  sailing  craft    have   been    known  to    lie    in    the 


244  TIT  K    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

harbor  at  one  time.  A  street  called  "  the  bund  "  trends 
along  the  curve  of  the  river  for  three  miles,  being  open 
to  the  water  front  for  that  distance  and  lined  on  the 
opposite  side  with  many  imposing  structures  built  in 
the  finest  style  of  European  architecture.  Several  of 
the  consular  establishments  are  on  a  scale  worthy  of 
the  great  nations  they  represent.  The  Church  of  En- 
gland has  a  costly  cathedral,  quite  throwing  into  the 
shade  the  Presbyterian  edifice  and  the  Union  Chapel. 
A  splendid  Club  House  and  Masonic  Hall  are  among  the 
notable  features  of  the  place.  Gas  lamps  adorn  and  il- 
lumine the  fine  streets.  A  well-paid  and  efficient  body 
of  police,  selected  from  the  London  constabulary,  main- 
tain order  among  the  more  than  seventy  thousand  Chi- 
nese who  live  within  the  foreign  precincts.  Municipal 
affairs  are  conducted  by  a  Council  elected  annually  from 
among  the  residents;  and  the  importance  of  the  trust 
committed  to  their  charge  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that 
the  budget  presented  for  acceptance  at  a  yearly  meeting 
in  1872  exhibited  a  total  of  estimated  receipts  for  taxes, 
dues,  licenses,  post-office,  etc.,  of  over  three  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  About  every  conceivable  means  of 
amusement  and  recreation  are  here  enjoyed;  while  the 
press  and  the  library,  with  reading  and  lecture  associa- 
tions, minister  to  the  intellectual  taste. 

There  are  fourteen  ports  or  depots,  exclusive  of 
Hong-Kong,  where  foreigners  have  taken  up  their  resi- 
dences for  purposes  of  commercial  intercourse.  Eleven 
of  these  are  situated  at  intervals  along  a  coast  line  of 
eighteen  hundred  miles,  and  three  on  the  river  Yang- 
tsz.  At  some  of  the  ports  settlers  have  acquired  land 
for   building   purposes   as   opportunity  may  have  offered; 


OCCIDENTAL   LIFE    IN   THE    ORIENT.  245 

and,  consequently,  their  dwellings  and  hongs  lie  in  iso- 
lated and  scattered  positions.  At  others,  a  particular 
site  has  been  set  apart  within  which  foreign  merchants 
are  permitted  to  acquire  property  and  build,  subject  to 
a  small  rental  to  the  Emperor  as  lord  of  the  soil.  At 
others  again,  the  later  acquired  ports  more  especially,  a 
concession  has  been  made  to  the  British  crown  of  a  spe- 
cial tract  subject  to  a  trifling  rental  to  the  Chinese  gov- 
ernment, and  this  has  been  divided  into  convenient  lots 
to  suit  purchasers. 

The  necessity  of  giving  employment  to  large  numbers 
of  Chinese  servants,  and  the  various  exigencies  of  trade, 
have  demanded  an  easily-acquired  medium  of  oral  com- 
munication. This  has  been  provided  in  the  "  Pigeon- 
English,"  a  barbarous  and  childish  dialect  that  has  be- 
come the  almost  exclusive  language  in  business  inter- 
course between  natives  and  foreigners  at  the  open  ports. 
The  uncouth  and  ridiculous  jargon  is  made  up  mostly  of 
English  words  in  a  modified  or  corrupted  form,  with  an 
admixture  of  Portuguese  and  Chinese,  wrought  into  local 
idioms.  The  term  "business"  is  a  very  important  and 
frequently-recurring  word,  but  the  Chinaman  is  utterly 
unable  to  pronounce  it, —  his  efforts  yielding  a  sound 
somewhat  resembling  the  word  pigeon.  So  the  accommo- 
dating foreigner  takes  the  liberty  of  adopting  the  modi- 
fied form  of  expression,  and  the  "Pigeon-English"  comes 
to  mean  simply  the  Business-English.  The  word  my  is 
arbitrarily  made  to  stand  for  the  different  cases  and  num- 
bers of  the  first  personal  pronoun,  you  for  the  second,  and 
he  for  the  third.  The  whole  dialect  is  exceedingly  mea 
containing,  perhaps,  only  a  few  hundred  words,  and  both 
foreigners  and  natives  learn  to  speak  it  quite  fluently   in 


246  THK    FOREIGNEB    IN    CHINA. 

a  few  months,  making  it  answer  very  well  all  practical 
purposes.  Some  American  resident  has  taken  the  pains 
to  translate  a  poem  of  Longfellow's  into  this  rude  speech, 
the  first  lines  of  his  "  Excelsior "  being  made  to  read  as 
follows: 

"That  nightey  time  begin  chop-chop, 

One  young  man  walkey —  no  can  stop. 

Maskee  snow!  maskee  ice! 

He  carry  flag  with  chop  so  nice  — 
Topside-galow." 

The  Rev.  Arthur  E.  Moule  has  celebrated  in  "  Pigeon- 
English"  verse  the  utility  of  the  bamboo,  and  his  effusion 
we  here  ti'ansfer  for  the  delectation  of  our  readers: 

"  One  piecee  thing  that  my  have  got, 
Maskee  that  thing  my  no  can  do. 
You  talkey  you  no  sabey  what? 

Bamboo. 

"That  chow-chow  all  too  muchey  sweet 
My  likee;  what  no  likee  you? 
You  makee  try,  you  makee  eat 

Bamboo. 

"That  olo  house  too  muchee  small, 
My  have  got  chilo,  wanchee  new; 
My  makee  one  big  piecee,  all 

Bamboo. 

"Top-side  that  house  my  wanchee  thatch. 
And  bottom-side  that  matting,  too; 
My  makee  both  if  my  can  catch 

Bamboo. 

"That  sun  he  makee  too  much  hot 
My  makee  hat  (my  talkey  true) 
And  coat  for  rain,  if  my  have  got 

Bamboo. 


OCCIDENTAL   LIFE    IN   THE    ORIENT.  247 

"That  Pilong  too  much  robbery- 
He  niakee;  on  his  back  one,  two, 
He  catchee  for  his  bobbery 

Bamboo. 

"  No  wanchee  walk  that  China  pig, 
You  foreigner  no  walkee  you, 
My  carry  both  upon  a  big 

Bamboo. 

"What  makee  san-pan  go  so  fast? 

That  time  the  wind  so  strong  he  blew, 
What  makee  sail  and  rope  and  mast? 

Bamboo. 

"My  catchee  everything  in  life, 

From  number  one  of  trees  that  grew, 
So  muchee  good  my  give  my  wife 

Bamboo. 

"And  now,  man-man,  my  talkee  done, 

And  so  my  say  chin-chin  to  you; 

My  hope  you  think  this  number  one 

Bamboo." 

Foreign  merchants  and  traders  in  China,  with  fre- 
quent and  most  honorable  exceptions,  are  not  in  sympathy 
with  the  work  of  Christian  missions.  Many  of  them  are 
engaged  directly  or  indirectly  in  the  opium  traffic,  which 
even  the  most  ignorant  native  does  not  fail  to  regard  as 
of  doubtful  morality,  but  which  traders  are  unwilling  to 
abandon  because  of  the  immense  profits.  Living  in  the 
midst  of  inferior  races,  where  the  restraints  of  home-life  are 
frequently  laid  aside,  they  sometimes  indulge  their  passions 
without  regard  to  divine  or  human  law.  The  holy  Sabbath 
is  little  heeded,  either  in  diplomatic  or  business  circles.  The 
missionary,  wholly  occupied  in  (he  peculiar  work  to  which 
he  is  sent,  has  no  time  to  labor  for  their  spiritual  well- 


248  THE    FOREIGNER    IX    CHINA. 

being,  but  cannot  always  suppress  his  indignation  ;  and, 
seeing  iniquity  in  those  from  whom  he  had  reason  to  ex- 
pect righteousness,  he  denounces  the  cupidity  and  vices  of 
his  own  countrymen,  who  in  turn  denounce  him  ;  and, 
unhappily,  innocent  parties  are  sometimes  involved.  The 
latter  are  generally  in  almost  total  ignorance  of  the  work 
and  success  of  the  men  they  execrate, —  never  going  where 
the  chapels  are  thronged  with  eager  worshipers,  never 
entering  the  orphanages  and  hospitals  where  the  aban- 
doned are  cared  for  and  the  afflicted  are  ministered  to 
in  the  name  of  the  Good  Ph}rsician,  and  never  visiting  the 
training  schools,  where  intelligent  and  enthusiastic  youth 
are  being  prepared  for  the  sacred  ministry  and  other 
spheres  of  usefulness.  This  breach  is  constantly  widen- 
ing, the  effect  being  to  multiply  a  peculiar  class  of  diffi- 
culties always  to  be  accounted  formidable.  Nor  is  the 
evil  confined  to  this  empire.  The  merchant-marine,  the 
naval  squadrons  visiting  Chinese  waters,  and  strangers  who 
are  making  the  tour  of  the  globe,  often  receive  their  im- 
pressions from  ignorant,  prejudiced,  or  impassioned  sources, 
and  they  return  home  to  create  a  public  sentiment  ad- 
verse to  foreign  missions.  Something  should  be  done  to 
heal  this  breach  between  missionaries  and  merchants,  and 
the  case  calls  for  serious  consideration  on  the  part  of 
Bishops,  Secretaries,  and  other  leaders  of  the  great  evan- 
gelizing movement  in  pagan  lands. 

The  contact  of  Western  civilization  with  Chinese  con- 
servatism is  beginning  to  tell  upon  the  latter.  With 
none  of  the  ill-considered  haste  manifested  in  the  Japan- 
ese tendency  to  all  things  foreign,  the  government  and 
the  commercial  classes  of  the  empire  yet  evince  a  purpose 
to   adopt   such    European   ideas   as   seem    to   them    safely 


OCCIDENTAL    LIFE    IN    THE    ORIENT.  249 

progressive.  The  movement  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as 
slow  and  hesitant,  but  it  has  reached  a  volume  and  mo- 
mentum which  may  be  characterized  as  national. 

The  revenues  derived  from  the  trade  conducted  in 
foreign  bottoms  at  the  various  open  ports  are  collected 
by  a  numerous  body  of  officials,  consisting  of '  foreigners 
and  natives,  the  former  controlling.  The  system  was 
introduced  at  Shanghai,  in  1855,  as  a  safeguard  against 
the  corruption  of  native  customs  officei's;  and,  under  the 
superintendence  of  Robert  Hart,  it  has  become  one  of  the 
most  efficient  customs  establishments  in  the  world.  That 
light-houses  have  been  erected  on  the  coast  is  owing 
chiefly  to  the  influence  of  this  distinguished  foreigner, 
who  probably  brings  into  the  Imperial  Treasury  a  larger 
annual  revenue  than  any  other  servant  of  the  Emperor. 

An  extensive  ax-senal  has  been  created  at  Kiang-nan, 
near  Shanghai,  where  some  of  the  ablest  practical  engi- 
neers Europe  and  America  can  produce  have  for  years 
been  engaged  in  introducing  machinery  and  imparting 
instruction.  In  1866,  pursuant  to  a  contract  between 
Mr.  P.  Giquel  and  Viceroy  Tso,  of  Fooh-kien  province, 
the  former  was  made  sole  director  of  the  projected  Foo- 
chow  arsenal,  and  almost  immediately  left  for  Europe  to 
engage  teachers  for  the  schools,  workmen  for  the  shops 
and  foundries,  and  to  purchase  engines,  machinery,  etc., 
being  amply  supplied  with  funds  for  the  purposes  named. 
The  ground  selected  for  the  site  of  the  arsenal  was  a 
paddy  field  near  Pagoda  Anchorage.  To  make  it  avail- 
able it  was  found  necessary  to  raise  the  whole  five  feet 
by  filling  in  with  dirt,  and  13,718,350  cubic  feet  of  earth 
were  deposited  over  an  area  of  -nine  forty  aires.  The 
work  on  the  arsenal  proper  commenced  in  October   1867, 


250  THE    FOEEIGNEB    IN    CHINA. 

and  was  prosecuted  with  great  vigor.  In  1869  the  for- 
eign employes  numbered  fifty-seven  in  all, —  including 
one  director,  one  civil  engineer,  one  surgeon,  five  pro- 
fessors, two  secretaries,  two  accountants,  two  draughts- 
men, thirteen  foremen,  and  twenty-eight  artisans, —  a 
large  majority  being  Frenchmen.  The  schools  of  engi- 
neering and  of  theoretical  and  practical  navigation  were 
taught  in  English;  while  the  designing  school,  the  school 
of  naval  construction,  a  chronometer  school,  with  the  de- 
partment for  apprentices  in  the  various  workshops,  were 
taught  by  six  French  professors  and  their  assistants.  The 
preparation  of  the  ground  was  an  immense  work,  and 
the  erection  of  temporary  buildings  involved  much  ex- 
pense and  labor,  and  the  results  achieved  in  so  brief  a 
time  showed  wonderful  enterprise  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Giquel  and  the  chief  mandarins  in  charge.  In  the  year 
above  mentioned  the  temporary  arsenal  comprised  a  work- 
shop in  which  models  were  made,  several  steam-saws,  a 
machine-shop,  a  foundry,  a  forge  with  thirty-one  fires,  a 
boiler  and  copperware  manufactory,  a  brick-kiln,  a  lathe- 
shop,  a  great  forge  with  two  furnaces,  a  steam-hammer 
of  two  tons  weight,  and  an  iron  rolling-machine  capable 
of  rolling  plates  an  inch  thick, —  all  in  active  and  suc- 
cessful operation.  Besides,  there  were  four  slips  for  ship- 
building, residences  for  the  director  and  teachers,  ware- 
houses, buildings  for  foreign  and  Chinese  laborers,  etc. 
In  addition  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  Chinese  sailors 
in  the  service,  and  five  hundred  soldiers  occasionally  de- 
tailed from  the  camp  near  by,  no  less  than  fifteen  hundred 
native  carpenters,  smiths  and  coolies  were  employed  on 
the  premises.  The  total  average  expenditure  of  the  works 
amounted  to  fifty  thousand  taels,  or  about  seventy  thou- 


OCCIDENTAL    LIFE   IN   THE    ORIENT.  251 

sand  dollars,  per  month.  The  first  transport  was  launched 
on  the  10th  of  June,  and  in  six  months  a  gun-boat  fol- 
lowed. Since  the  completion  of  the  permanent  buildings, 
unless  the  expectations  of  the  director  have  been  disap- 
pointed, the  government  works  at  Foo-chow  have  been  able 
to  furnish  each  year  three  engines  and  as  many  ships. 
There  is  a  third  and  somewhat  smaller  arsenal  at  Tien- 
tsin. 

That  nothing  may  be  left  undone  in  the  effort  to  make 
the  Celestials  an  effective  war  power,  foreign  drill-masters 
are  called  in,  who,  in  training  their  soldiers,  resort  to  the 
use  of  words  of  command  in  the  English  tongue.  Bishop 
Wiley  states,  in  his  "  China  and  Japan,"  that  when  he 
entered  the  city  of  Foo-chow  he  met  a  number  of  soldiers 
returning  from  their  drill,  and  was  surprised  at  hearing 
them  shout  to  each  other  in  our  own  language,  "Shoulder 
arms,"  "  forward  march,"  etc. 

By  means  of  its  peculiar  educational  system,  the  Chi- 
nese government  in  some  sense  monopolizes  and  directs 
all  the  talent  of  the  nation.  "  Employ  the  able  and  pro- 
mote the  worthy,"  is  a  maxim  long  held  in  high  repute, 
and  is  something  more  than  a  mere  theory.  A  talented  and 
industrious  man  may  raise  himself  from  the  most  obscure 
position  in  society  to  the  head  of  a  viceroyalty  or  the 
presidency  of  one  of  the  supreme  tribunals  at  Peking. 
Preliminary  examinations  are  held  in  each  district  town, 
and  the  successful  students  are  all  duly  entered  for  the 
decisive  trial  before  the  literary  chancellor  of  the  province. 
Those  who  are  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  the  bachelor's 
degree  are  considered  in  a  fair  way  to  win  further  huiiors 
and  official  position;  but  they  must  soon  face  the  trien- 
nial examination  for  the  next  degree  before  two  Imperial 


252  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

Commissioners.  The  names  of  the  graduates  are  published 
by  a  crier  at  midnight  from  the  highest  tower  in  the 
city,  and  next  morning  lists  of  the  successful  competing 
licentiates  are  hawked  about  the  streets  and  sent  by 
couriers  to  all  parts  of  the  province.  The  third  degree 
is  conferred  at  Peking,  when  the  new-made  doctors  are 
introduced  to  the  Emperor  and  do  him  reverence,  the 
three  who  possess  the  most  signal  merit  receiving  re- 
wards from  His  Majesty.  They  are  all  inscribed  upon 
the  list  of  candidates  for  promotion  by  the  Board  of  Civil 
Office,  to  be  appointed  as  vacancies  occur.  The  fourth  and 
highest  degree  of  Hanlin — "Scholar  Laureate  of  the  Em- 
pire " — is  a  very  great  dignity,  and  all  who  attain  it  are 
enrolled  as  members  of  the  Imperial  Acadenry  and  re- 
ceive salaries. 

The  Chinese  have  the  original  patent  for  civil  service 
reform,  and,  with  at  least  all  due  ceremonies  and  apparent 
even-handed  justice  to  aspirants  for  place  and  honors  un- 
der the  empire,  they  have  maintained  their  educational 
system  for  more  than  two  thousand  years.  Not  only  are 
the  candidates  for  civil  office  promoted  according  to  their 
examinations,  but  when  men  come  for  forty  successive 
years  with  a  view  to  government  promotion,  although  un- 
successful, they  pass  into  a  certain  honorable  position. 
As  a  result,  they  have  scholars  who  can,  in  some  respects, 
mock  the  wisest  men  we  are  able  to  produce.  The  na- 
tive classics,  with  the  comments  on  them,  make  a  mass  of 
knowledge  equal  in  volume  to  some  of  our  largest  com- 
mentaries on  the  Bible;  yet  the  Emperor  never  lacks  for 
scholars  who  can  repeat  every  word  of  them  from  memory. 

Notwithstanding  their  proud  distinction  as  a  literary 
people,  the  Chinese  aspire  to  Western  learning.     Inferior 


OCCIDENTAL    LIFE    IN    THE    ORIENT.  253 

schools  have  been  established  lyy  the  government  at  Can- 
ton and  Shanghai,  the  former  under  Dr.  Happer,  and  the 
latter  presided  over  by  Rev.  Dr.  Y.  J.  Allen;  the  object 
of  these  institutions  being  to  raise  up  a  class  of  young 
men  for  the  public  service  possessing  the  advantage  of 
both  foreign  and  native  culture.  The  University  of  Pe- 
king, with  Rev.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  LL.D.,  at  the  head,  and 
possessing  a  corps  of  eleven  professors,  seven  of  whom  are 
foreign,  has  for  a  number  of  years  successfully  carried  on 
the  work  of  imparting  instruction  to  students  from  vari- 
ous sections  of  the  country.  A  printing-office  with  six 
presses  has  been  erected  in  connection  with  the  college 
for  the  purpose  of  publishing  scientific  works.  The  full 
literary  and  scientific  course  of  study  extends  over  eight 
years, —  the  first  three  being  given  exclusively  to  foreign 
languages,  and  the  remainder  to  the  acquisition  of  sci- 
entific and  general  knowledge  through  the  medium  of 
those  languages. 

Not  satisfied  with  these  experiments  at  home,  the  gov- 
ernment appointed  a  Royal  Commission  to  visit  the  dif- 
ferent civilized  nations  of  the  world  with  a  view  of  se- 
lecting some  place  to  ■  establish  a  Chinese  Educational 
Mission;  and,  after  much  deliberation,  the  United  States 
was  chosen,  and  Hartford,  Conn.,  selected  as  the  city  in 
which  to  erect  the  school.  Grounds  were  purchased  and 
suitable  buildings  completed  at  a  cost  of  over  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  pupils,  who  now  number  one  hundred 
and  twelve,  were  selected  in  China  aceording  to  their  lit- 
erary attainments  or  capabilities,  and  are  to  be  taken 
through  a  term  of  fifteen  years.  The  school  is  in  charge 
of  two  Imperial  Commissioners,  a  translator  and  inter* 
prefer,  and  two   teachers,   whose  prescribed  duty   it    is    to 


254  THE    FOREIGN  KK    IS    CHINA. 

see  that  these  students  possess  the  advantages  of  a  thor- 
ough English  and  Chinese  education.  The  government 
of  China  has  thus  set  before  the  American  republic  a 
conspicuous  example  of  that  policy  of  civil  service  re- 
form which  wisely  seeks  to  educate  the  servants  of  the 
state  for  the  discharge  of  their  peculiar  and  important 
functions.  Yung-wing,  of  the  embassy  in  Washington, 
has  established,  in  connection  with  this  institution,  a 
school  for  the  training  of  Chinese  telegraph  operators, 
which  is  the  advance  step  in  a  plan  conceived  among 
high  officials  of  the  empire  to  erect  telegraph  lines  be- 
tween all  the  large  cities  of  China.  The  annual  expendi- 
ture on  this  remarkable  mission  is  over  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

One  writer  boldly  asserts  that  the  Chinese  "  have 
adopted  every  manifest  improvement  which  has  pre- 
sented itself  for  these  many  centuries."  In  proof  of  his 
position,  he  states  that,  "  At  the  commencement  of  the 
Christian  era  they  adopted  the  decimal  system  of  nota- 
tion introduced  by  the  Boodhists;  and  changed  their  an- 
cient custom  of  writing  figures  from  top  to  bottom  for 
the  Indian  custom  of  from  left  to  right.  Every  dynasty 
has  improved  the  calendar  according  to  the  increased 
light  obtained  from  Western  astronomers.  This  holds 
particularly  true  of  the  present  epoch.  When  the  Tar- 
tars obtained  possession  of  Peking,  the  native  mathema- 
ticians and  astronomers  hastened  to  present  the  new  gov- 
ernors with  the  ancient  calendar  ' fully  revised  and  cor- 
rected.'' An  eclipse  was  near  at  hand.  The  Emperor 
commanded  a  competition.  The  calculations  of  the  Ro- 
man Catholic,  Father  Schaal,  alone  were  correct,  and 
thereupon  he  was  appointed  president  of  the  Board  of  As- 


OCCIDENTAL   LIFE    IN   THE   ORIENT.  255 

tronomy.  In  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Emperor, 
Kang-hi,  adopted  movable  copper  types  for  printing  his 
magnum  oj)us,  an  illustrated  encyclopaedia  of  ten  thou- 
sand books,  in  three  hundred  volumes;  and  to  this  day 
movable  types  of  wood  are  used  for  printing  the  daily 
Peking  Gazette.  Chinese  farmers  in  the  south  and  north 
almost  simultaneously  naturalized  the  cotton  plant;  the 
former  had  it  from  Batavia,  the  latter  from  Bokhara. 
The  northern  people  have  universally  adopted  Indian 
corn,  or  maize,  as  also  the  potato,  from  Central  Asia. 
Tobacco  was  introduced  by  the  Manchoo  dynasty,  and 
opium,  alas!  by  foreign  merchants. 

"  The  same  disposition  prevails  at  the  present  moment 
in  a  marked  manner  among  certain  prominent  literary 
men.  The  translation  of  Herschel's  great  work  on  As- 
tronomy has  been  well  received,  and  its  teaching  will 
doubtless  prevail.  Tsun  Kwo-fan,  the  great  mandarin  who 
has  been  so  prominently  before  the  European  public  of 
late  years,  has  republished  all  the  works  of  Euclid,  con- 
sisting of  the  first  six  books  translated  by  Matthew  Ricci, 
and  the  remaining  nine  recently  translated  by  Mr.  Wy- 
lie.  Li  Hung-chang,  the  famous  general  of  world-wide 
celebrity,  has  republished  Whewell's  Mechanics,  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Edkins,  with  a  large  supplement  upon  Hy- 
drostatics and  Conic  Sections,  taken  from  the  Almanak 
which  used  to  be  issued  yearly  by  that  gentleman.  The 
father  of  Yeh,  the  former  viceroy  of  Canton  and  the 
hero  of  the  late  Canton  troubles,  has  republished  the 
works  on  medicine,  natural  philosophy,  and  astronomy, 
given  to  the  Chinese  by  Dr.  Hobson.  Tsun  Kwo-fan's 
brother,  Tsun  Kwo-chein,  formerly  governor  of  Che-kiang 
province,  has  likewise  published  all  the  works  of  the  aa- 


256  TIIK    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

five  mathematician,  Li,  who  has  been  so  much  indebted 
to  the  Protestant  missionaries,  and  who  has  this  spring 
(1870)  been  called  to  Peking  by  the  Emperor,  and  ap- 
pointed professor  of  mathematics  in  the  new  Anglo-Chi- 
nese college  at  the  capital.1'* 

Their  liability  to  misunderstandings  and  consequent 
collisions  with  nations  of  the  West  have  produced  a  dis- 
position on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  to  become  acquainted 
with  our  conventional  rules  of  international  law;  and, 
accordingly,  Wheaton's  standard  work  on  that  subject 
has  been  translated  by  Dr.  Martin  and  printed  at  the 
Emperoi,,s  expense.  Nor  have  they  been  insensible  to 
the  good  deeds  of  Western  philanthropy.  Hospitals,  it 
is  true,  have  existed  among  them  for  many  centuries; 
but,  without  doubt,  such  institutions  received  a  vast  im- 
pulse first  from  Roman  Catholic  and  later  from  Prot- 
estant missions;  until  foundling  hospitals  and  asylums 
for  the  sick  and  aged,  and  societies  for  providing  coffins 
and  food  for  the  poor,  have  been  established  in  many  of 
the  leading  cities.  Mr.  Pearson  successfully  introduced 
vaccine  inoculation;  although  the  pamphlet  accompany- 
ing his  invaluable  present,  containing  some  necessary 
directions  for  the  use  of  the  virus  and  stating  the  dis- 
covery to  have  been  English,  was  so  mutilated  by  the  na- 
tive publishers  as  to  give  no  trace  by  which  it  could  be 
known  that  the  discovei'y  was  other  than  Chinese. 

It  may  be  true  that  "  a  very  populous  and  ancient  na- 
tion like  the  Chinese  is  slow  to  turn  to  an  unaccustomed 
stand-point,"  but  it  is  quite  evident  that  among  their 
most  intelligent  men  there  are  those  who  are  quick  to 
see  the  value  of  improvements  and  who  readily  become  ac- 

*  Williamson's  "  Journeys  in  North  China,"  vol  i.  pp.  33-35. 


OCCIDENTAL   LIFE    IN   THE   ORIENT.  257 

customed  to  changes.  Among  the  most  progressive  men 
of  the  empire  is  Li  Hung-cbang,  some  time  viceroy  of 
the  province  of  Chih-li,  in  which  is  situated  the  Impe- 
rial city  of  Peking.  Clinging  tenaciously  to  the  time- 
honored  institutions  of  his  country,  he  is  nevertheless 
cautiously  effecting  important  changes.  He  has  con- 
nected with  his  office  an  American,  and  several  Chinese 
who  received  their  education  in  the  United  States,  with 
still  others  who  studied  at  Cambridge  University  and  in 
various  cities  of  Europe.  Prominent  articles  relating  to 
Chinese  affairs  contained  in  the  leading  newspapers  of 
the  world  are  translated  for  his  information;  and  be 
is  consulted  by  the  supreme  government  upon  every  im- 
portant point  arising  with  foreigners.  He  believes  in 
Krupp  guns,  Remington  rifles,  English  torpedoes,  and 
American  dredges.  The  supervision  of  all  the  arsenals 
is 'confided  to  his  care.  He  is  tbe  possessor  of  a  beautiful 
steam  barge,  kept  for  his  own  purposes  of  travel  up 
and  down  the  Pei-ho.  Once,  when  impressed  with  the 
beauty  and  genius  shown  in  some  imported  instruments, 
he  exclaimed,  "How  wonderful!  How  comes  it  that  such 
inventions  and  discoveries  are  always  foreign?"  It  is 
probably  owing  mainly  to  the  influence  of  this  man  that 
the  Emperor's  permission  was  recently  granted  to  con- 
struct a  telegraph  line  twelve  hundred  miles  in  length 
from  Shanghai  to  Tien-tsin;  and  when  this  enterprise 
is  completed  the  government  at  Peking  will  be  in  imme- 
diate communication,  by  electricity,  with  all  the  courts  of 
Europe  and  the  Executive  at  Washington. 

When    Mr.    Hart   was   appointed    Inspector-General   of 
Customs,    it    was    made    a    condition    of    his    appointment, 
by  Sir  Robert  Bruce  and  Mr.  Burlingame,  that  he  should 
11* 


258  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

not  occupy  a  quasi-diplomatic  position,  but  should  reside 
at  the  treaty  ports.  He  was  subsequently  retained  at 
Peking,  however,  by  the  consent  and  approval  of  these 
foreign  ministers,  probably  because  they  found  it  expe- 
dient to  have  him  as  an  intermediary  agent;  and  it  soon 
became  evident  to  observing  foreigners  that  he  had  ac- 
quired a  powerful  influence  at  court.  Taking  advantage 
of  his  opportunity  in  official  and  friendly  intercourse  with 
the  chief  mandarins,  Mr.  Hart  frequently  urged  upon 
them  the  necessity  for  the  establishment  of  a  resident 
mission  at  the  court  of  every  Treaty  Power.  His  motive 
in  pressing  this  policy  he  states  in  these  words:  "I  re- 
garded representation  abroad  as  of  paramount  impor- 
tance, and  as,  in  itself,  progress;  for,  while  I  thought 
that  I  saw  in  it  one  of  China's  least  objectionable  ways 
of  preserving  freedom  and  independence,  I  also  supposed 
it  would  constitute  a  tie  which  should  bind  her  to  the 
West  so  firmly,  and  commit  her  to  a  career  of  improve- 
ment so  certainly,  as  to  make  retrogression  impossible." 
In  the  latter  part  of  October,  1867,  Mr.  Burlingame 
went  to  the  yamun  to  pay  his  farewell  visit;  when,  in 
the  course  of  a  conversation  with  Prince  Kung,  he  in- 
quired whether  he  could  be  of  any  service  to  the  For- 
eign Office  on  the  present  occasion  of  his  departure  from 
China  and  return  to  America.  The  Prince  replied  by 
some  such  jocular  remark  —  with  possibly  a  touch  of  sar- 
casm—  as,  "Why,  you  might  just  as  well  be  our  Em- 
bassador at  once!  "  The  idea  thus  broached  rapidly  grew 
to  be  considered  as  a  serious  question,  receiving  the  cor- 
dial support  of  Mr.  Hart,  and  finally  culminated  in  the 
formal  appointment  of  the  now  celebrated  Commission. 
Although  the  establishment  of  Missions  abroad  had  been 


OCCIDENTAL   LIFE    IN   THE    ORIENT.  259 

urged  upon  the  government  for  years,  the  selection  of 
Mr.  Burlingaine  may  be  said  to  have  been  spontaneous: 
that  is  to  say,  he  did  not  solicit  the  appointment,  it  nat- 
urally growing  out  of  what  at  first  was  a  mere  pleas- 
antry.* He  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Embassy, 
and  two  Chinese  officials  of  high  rank  associated  with 
him,  the  attaches  consisting  of  two  foreign  secretaries, 
one  English  and  one  French,  six  Chinese  student  inter- 
preters, two  of  whom  spoke  French,  two  English,  and 
two  Russian;  besides  twenty  subordinate  officers,  valets, 
physicians,  and  servants.  The  brilliant  career  of  these 
representatives  of  China  through  America  and  Europe, 
and  their  success  in  opening  up  a  more  intelligent  in- 
tercourse between  the  East  and  the  West,  are  all  famil- 
iar matters  of  history. 

In  February,  1873,  the  empresses  dowager  resigned 
their  powers  as  regents  of  the  empire  into  the  hands  of 
Tung-chi,  who,  having  passed  his  minority,  assumed  the 
reins  of  government.  This  long-expected  event  was 
seized  upon  by  the  foreign  ministers  to  urge  the  right 
of  audience  with  the  Emperor.  Their  united  and  de- 
termined purpose  in  taking  this  step,  added  to  the  log- 
ical necessities  of  the  case  since  the  adoption  of  the  for- 
eign policy  inaugurated  in  the  Burlingaine  mission, 
rendered  their  movement  successful. 

The  audience  took  place  on  the  29th  of  June,  eight 
hundred  mandarins  in  splendid  costume  gracing  the  oc- 
casion with  their  presence.  The  embassador  of  Japan 
was  received  first,  a  separate  interview  being  accorded 
to  him.    When  he  had  retired,  the  ministers  of  the  United 

♦Note  on  Chinese  Matters,  by  Robert  Hart,  in  "  North  China  Herald,"  dated 
Peking,  June  30,  1869. 


260  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

States,  Russia,  Gi*eat  Britain,  France  and  the  Nether- 
lands, entered  the  presence  in  a  body,  and,  without  the 
usual  servile  ceremonies,  were  permitted  to  gaze  upon 
"  the  sacred  countenance."  M.  de  Vlangally,  the  Rus- 
sian minister  and  dean  of  the  diplomatic  corps,  read  an 
address  to  the  Emperor  in  French,  which  Herr  Bismarck, 
secretary  and  interpreter  of  the  German  legation,  re- 
peated in  Chinese.  Each  minister  then  deposited  his 
credentials  on  a  table  in  front  of  the  throne.  This  cere- 
mony over,  the  Emperor  delivered,  in  the  Manchoo  dia- 
lect, his  reply  to  the  address.  Prince  Kung,  kneeling 
by  the  footstool  of  His  Majesty,  interpreted  the  Empe- 
ror's words  in  Chinese.  At  the  close  of  the  audience, 
the  embassadors  were  escorted  to  their  chairs  with  great 
ceremony,  by  members  of  the  Tsung-li  yamun. 

One  significant  fact,  in  connection  with  the  late  Em- 
peror's accession  to  power,  may  be  here  appropriately  re- 
ferred to.  Returning  from  his  journey  to  the  tombs  of 
his  ancestors,  which  had  been  undertaken  in  accordance 
with  a  custom  of  the  dynasty,  the  shops  of  Peking  were 
allowed  to  remain  open  and  the  streets  were  not  cleared 
of  people  as  the  imperial  cortege  passed  along.  This 
public  disregard  of  the  ancient  usage  on  such  occasions, 
together  with  the  important  concession  of  the  audience 
question,  may  be  contemplated  as  precursory  to  yet  more 
startling  events  in  the  mental  awakening  which  has 
already  touched  with  subtle  and  resistless  power  those 
chief   centers  of   influence, —  the  Temple  and  the  Throne. 

The  foreigner  is  strongly  intrenched  in  China.  He 
is  there  with  his  colonies,  his  concessions,  his  municipal 
council,  his  courts  of  justice,  his  temples  of  learning, 
his   newspapers,   his   religions,   his   philosophies,    and    his 


OCCIDENTAL    LIFE    IN   THE    ORIENT.  261 

commerce.  If  it  were  possible  to  expel  him  in  person, 
the  influence  he  has  begotten  would  still  remain  to  ex- 
ercise a  resistless  and  controlling  power  over  the  forces 
destined  to  subvert  and  re-create  that  ancient  empire. 

As  one  has  said,  "  That  East  which  men  have  sought 
since  the  days  of  Alexander  itself  now  seeks  the  West." 
What  should  be  the  attitude  of  America  toward  her  gov- 
ernment and  people?  In  view  of  our  immense  mission- 
ary and  commercial  investments  in  China,  and  in  view 
of  a  trade  which,  during  the  few  years  immediately  pre- 
ceding 1868,  rose  from  eighty-two  millions  to  three 
hundred  millions,  and  which  is  capable  of  sufficient  ex- 
pansion to  be  felt  in  every  workshop  in  the  civilized  world, 
do  not  a  broad  philanthropy  and  a  wise  statesmanship 
unite  in  pointing  out  a  policy  of  peace  and  good  will? 
If  we  must  limit  and  control  the  Chinese  immigration, 
let  it  be  so;  but  the  genius  of  our  republican  institu- 
tions and  the  spirit  of  our  Christianity  will  forever  pro- 
test against  the  war  of  races  inaugurated  on  our  Pacific 
coast. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  TREATIES  WITH  CHINA. 

rT^HE    following   is   the  text   of  the   two   treaties 

-L    signed  at  Peking  on  September  17,  1880,  by  the 

Commissioners-Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States 

and  China   respectively.     The  first,  which  provides 

for  the  future  regulation  of  Chinese  immigration,  is 

in  these  words: 

I. 

Whereas,  In  the  eighth  year  of  Heen  Fung,  Anno 
Domini  1858,  a  treaty  of  peace  and  friendship  was  con- 
cluded between  the  United  States  of  America  and  China, 
to  which  were  added,  in  the  seventh  year  of  Tung  Chih, 
Anno  Domini  1868,  certain  supplementary  articles  to  the 
advantage  of  both  parties,  which  supplementary  articles 
were  to  be  perpetually  observed  and  obeyed ;  and 

Whereas,  The  Government  of  the  United  States,  because 
of  the  constantly  increasing  immigration  of  Chinese  labor- 
ers to  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  and  the  embarrass- 
ments consequent  upon  such  immigration,  now  desires  to 
negotiate  a  modification  of  the  existing  treaties,  which  shall 
not  be  in  direct  contravention  of  their  spirit: 

Now,  therefore,  the  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America  has  appointed  James  B.  Angoll,  of  .Michigan,  John 
F.  Swift,  of  California,  and  William  Henry  Trescott,  of 
South  Carolina,  as  his  Commissioners-Plenipotentiary,  and 
his  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China  has  appointed 
Pao  Clmn,  a  member  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's  Privy  Coun- 

2G3 


'204  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

cil  and  Superintendent  of  the  Board  of  Civil  Office,  and  Li 
Hung  Tsao,  a  member  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's  Privy 
Council,  as  his  Commissioners-Plenipotentiary;  and  the 
said  Commissioners,  having  conjointly  examined  their  full 
powers,  and  having  discussed  the  points  of  possible  modifi- 
cation in  existing  treaties,  have  agreed  upon  the  following 
articles  in  modification. 

Article  I.  Whenever,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States,  the  coming  of  Chinese  laborers 
to  the  United  States,  or  their  residence  therein,  affect,  or 
threaten  to  affect,  the  interests  of  that  country,  to  endanger 
the  good  order  of  the  said  country,  or  of  any  locality 
within  the  territory  thereof,  the  Government  of  China 
agrees  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  may 
regulate,  limit,  or  suspend  such  coming  or  residence,  but 
may  not  absolutely  prohibit  it.  The  limitation  or  suspen- 
sion shall  be  reasonable,  and  shall  apply  only  to  Chinese 
who  may  go  to  the  United  States  as  laborers,  other  classes 
not  being  included  in  the  limitation.  Legislation  taken  in 
regard  to  Chinese  laborers  will  be  of  such  a  character  only 
as  is  necessary  to  enforce  the  regulation,  limitation,  or  sus- 
pension of  immigration,  and  immigrants  shall  not  be  sub- 
ject to  personal  maltreatment  or  abuse. 

Art.  II.  Chinese  subjects,  whether  proceeding  to  the 
United  States  as  teachers,  students,  merchants,  or  from 
curiosity,  together  with  body  and  household  servants,  and 
Chinese  laborers,  who  are  now  in  the  United  States,  shall 
be  allowed  to  go  and  come  of  their  own  free  will  and 
accord,  and  shall  be  accorded  all  the  rights,  privileges,  im- 
munities, and  exemptions  which  are  accorded  to  the  citizens 
and  subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation. 

Art.  III.    If  Chinese  laborei'S,  or  Chinese  of  any  other 


APPRNDIX.  265 

class,  now  either  permanently  or  temporarily  residing  in 
the  territory  of  the  United  States,  meet  with  ill-treatment 
at  the  hands  of  any  other  persons,  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  will  exert  all  its  power  to  devise  measures  for 
their  protection,  and  to  secure  to  them  the  same  rights, 
privileges,  immunities  and  exemptions  as  may  he  enjoyed 
by  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  most  favored  nation,  and 
to  which  they  are  entitled  by  treaty. 

Art.  IV.  The  high  contracting  powers  having  agreed 
upon  the  foregoing  articles,  whenever  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  shall  adopt  legislative  measures  in  accord- 
ance therewith,  such  measures  will  be  communicated  to  the 
Government  of  China.  If  such  measures,  as  enacted,  are 
found  to  work  hardships  upon  the  subjects  of  China,  the 
Chinese  Minister  at  Washington  may  bring  the  matter  to 
the  notice  of  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States, 
who  will  consider  the  subject  with  him;  and  the  Chinese 
Foreign  Office  may  also  bring  the  matter  to  the  notice  of 
the  United  States  Minister  at  Peking,  and  consider  the  sub- 
ject with  him,  to  the  end  that  mutual  and  unqualified 
benefit  may  result. 

In  faith  whereof,  the  respective  plenipotentiaries  have 
signed  and  sealed  the  foregoing  at  Peking,  in  English  and 
Chinese,  being  three  originals  of  each  text,  of  even  tenor 
and  date,  the  ratifications  of  which  shall  be  exchanged  at 
Peking  within  one  year  from  the  date  of  its  execution. 

Done  at  Peking,  this  17th  day  of  November,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1880,  Kuang  Tsu,  sixth  year,  tenth  moon,  fif- 
teenth day.  James  B.  Angell.  [Seal] 
John  F.  Swift.  |S<!al] 
Wm.  Henry  Tbescott.      [Seal] 
Signatures  of  Chinese  Commissioners.      [Seal] 


266  THE    FOREIGNER    IN    CHINA. 

II. 

The  commercial  treaty  reads  thus: 

The  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  Imperial 
Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China,  because  of  certain  points  of 
incompleteness  of  the  existing  treaties  between  their  two 
Governments,  have  named  as  their  Commissioners-Plenipo- 
tentiaries, that  is  to  say,  the  President  of  the  United  States: 
James  B.  Angell,  of  Michigan,  John  F.  Swift,  of  Califor- 
nia, and  William  Henry  Trescott,  of  South  Carolina;  his 
Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China:  Pao  Chun,  a 
member  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's  Privy  Council,  and  Super- 
intendent of  the  Board  of  Civil  Office,  and  Li  Hung  Tsao, 
a  member  of  his  Imperial  Majesty's  Privy  Council,  who 
have  agreed  upon  and  concluded  the  following  articles: 

Article  I.  The  Governments  of  the  United  States  and 
of  China,  recognizing  the  benefits  of  their  past  commercial 
relations,  and  in  order  still '  further  to  promote  such  rela- 
tions between  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  the  two  powers, 
mutually  agree  to  give  the  most  careful  and  favorable 
attention  to  the  representations  of  either,  or  to  such  special 
extension  of  commercial  intercourse  as  either  may  desire. 

Art.  II.  The  Governments  of  China  and  of  the  United 
States  mutually  agree  and  undertake  that  Chinese  subjects 
shall  not  be  permitted  to  import  opium  into  any  of  the 
ports  of  the  United  States,  and  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  shall  not  be  permitted  to  import  opium  into  any  of 
the  open  ports  of  China,  to  transport  it  from  one  open  port 
to  any  other  open  port,  or  to  buy  or  sell  opium  in  any  of 
the  open  ports  of  China.  This  absolute  prohibition,  which 
extends  to  vessels  owned  by  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  either 
power,  to  foreign  vessels  employed  by  them,  or  to  vessels 


APPENDIX.  267 

owned  by  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  either  power,  and  em- 
ployed by  other  persons  for  the  transportation  of  opium, 
shall  be  enforced  by  appropriate  legislation  on  the  part  of 
China  and  of  the  United  States,  and  the  benefits  of  the 
favored  nation  clause  in  existing  treaties  shall  not  be 
claimed  by  the  citizen  or  subject  of  either  power,  as  against 
the  provisions  of  this  article. 

Art.  III.  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  China 
hereby  promises  and  agrees  that  no  other  kind  or  higher 
rate  of  tonnage  dues  or  duties  for  imports  or  exports  on 
coastwise  trade  shall  be  imposed  or  levied  in  the  open  ports 
of  China  upon  vessels  wholly  belonging  to  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  or  upon  the  produce,  manufactures,  or  mer- 
chandise imported  in  the  same  from  the  United  States,  or 
from  any  foreign  country,  or  upon  the  produce,  manufact- 
ures or  merchandise  exported  in  the  same  to  the  United 
States,  or  to  any  foreign  country,  or  transported  in  the 
same  from  one  open  port  of  China  to  another,  than  are  im- 
posed or  levied  on  vessels  or  cargoes  of  any  other  nation,  or 
on  those  of  Chinese  subjects.  The  United  States  hereby 
promise  and  agree  that  no  other  kind  or  higher  rate  of 
tonnage  dues  or  duties  for  imports  shall  be  imposed  or 
levied  in  the  ports  of  the  United  States  upon  vessels  wholly 
belonging  to  subjects  of  his  Imperial  Majesty,  and  coming 
either  directly  or  by  way  of  any  foreign  port  from  any  of 
the  ports  of  China  which  are  open  to  foi'eign  trade,  to  the 
ports  of  the  United  States,  or  returning  therefrom,  either 
directly  or  by  way  of  any  of  the  open  ports  of  China,  or 
upon  the  produce,  manufactures  or  merchandise  imported 
in  the  same  from  China,  or  from  any  foreign  country,  than 
are  imposed  or  levied  on  vessels  of  other  cations  which 
make  no  discrimination  against  the  United  States  in  ton- 


268  THE    POBEIGHBB   IN    CHINA. 

nage  dues  or  duties  on  imports,  exports,  or  coastwise  trarie, 
or  than  are  imposed  or  levied  on  vessels  and  cargoes  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States. 

Art.  IV.  When  controversies  arise  in  the  Chinese  Empire 
between  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  subjects  of  his 
Imperial  Majesty  which  need  to  be  examined  and  decided 
by  the  public  officers  of  the  two  nations,  it  is  agreed  be- 
tween the  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  China 
that  such  cases  shall  be  tried  by  the  proper  official  of  the 
nationality  of  the  defendant.  The  properly  authorized 
official  of  the  plaintiff's  nationality  shall  be  freely  per- 
mitted to  attend  the  trial,  and  shall  be  treated  with  the 
courtesy  due  his  position.  He  shall  be  granted  all  proper 
facilities  for  watching  the  proceedings  in  the  interests  of 
justice.  If  he  so  desires,  he  shall  have  the  right  to  present, 
to  examine  and  to  cross-examine  witnesses.  If  he  be  dis- 
satisfied with  the  proceedings,  he  shall  be  permitted  to  pro- 
test against  them  in  detail.  The  law  administered  will  be 
the  law  of  the  nationality  of  the  officer  trying  the  case. 

In  faith  whereof,  the  Plenipotentiaries  have  signed  and 
sealed  the  foregoing  at  Peking,  in  English  and  Chinese,  etc. 
Signatures  of  the  Chinese  Commission. 

James  B.  Angell. 

John  F.  Swift. 

William  Henry  Trescott. 


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"  The  selections  are  made  with  excellent  judgment,  and  form  a  worthy  muster- 
roll  of  the  most  immortal  of  all  the  Scottish  clans." — Appleton's  Journal.. 

SMITH-PATMOS  ;  or,  The  Kingdom  and  the  Patience. 

By  J.  A.  Smith,  D.D.,  Editor  of  The  Standard.  Cloth,  Si. 25. 

"No  one  can  read  this  volume  without  receiving  a  new  inspiration  tu  faithful 
service  in  the  cause  of  Christ." — Zion's  Advocate. 


PUBLICATIONS   OF  S.   C.   GRIGGS   eV    CO.,    CHICAGO. 

TAYLOR  -SONGS  OF  YESTERDAY.  By  Benj.  F.  Taylor. 
Beautifully  illustrated.  Octavo,  with  handsomely  ornamented  cover 
in  black  and  gold.     Full  gilt  edges,  $3  ;  morocco,  #6. 

"  The  volume  is  magnificently  gotten  up.  .  .  There  is  a  simplicity,  a  tender- 
ness and  a  pathos,  intermingled  always  with  a  quiet  humor,  about  his  writings 
which  is  inexpressibly  charming.  Some  of  his  earlier  poems  have  become  classic, 
and  many  of  those  in  the  present  volume  are  destined  to  as  wide  a  popularity  as 
Longfellow's  'Village  Blacksmith'  or  Whittier's  'Maud  Muller.'  " — Boston 
Transcript. 

TAYLOR -BETWEEN  THE  GATES.  By  Benj.  F.  Taylor. 
Illustrated.      i2mo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

"Benj.  F.  Taylor  gives  us  another  of  his  charming  volumes  of  pen-pictures. 
Every  fact  is  so  pictorially  stated,  and  with  so  exuberant  a  fancy,  that  the  book  has 
all  the  charm  of  fiction. — Harper's  Magazine. 

TAYLOR -SUMMER  SAVORY.  By  Benj.  F.  Taylor.  i2mo, 
cloth,  $1. 

"  A  series  of  pen  pictures  of  the  most  versatile  and  charming  character.  One  is 
delighted  with  the  thought-surprises,  and  again  you  pause  to  admire  the  word- 
wonders  with  which  the  book  is  so  full.  The  lines  smell  of  fragrant  herbs,  and 
shimmer  with  sunbeams,  and  are  gay  with  flowers." — Methodist  Protestant, 
Baltimore. 

TAYLOR- IN   CAMP  AND   FIELD.       By   Benj.   F.   Taylor. 
i2mo,  cloth,  $1.50. 

"  Each  of  these  sketches  is  a  gem  in  itself.  One  may  search  the  annals  of  war 
from  Tacitus  to  Kinglake  and  not  find  anything  finer." — Inter-Ocean. 

"The  description  of  Hooker's  battle  '  above  the  clouds  '  is  one  of  the  grandest 
pieces  of  word-painting  in  the  English  language." — Peoria  Transcript. 

TAYLOR  -  OLD-TIME    PICTURES    AND    SHEAVES    OF 

RHYME.     By  Benj.  F.  Taylor.     Illustrated,   small   quarto,   silk 
cloth,  price  #1.50;  the  same,  full  gilt  edges  and  side,  $1.75. 

"  I  do  not  know  of  any  one  whoso  well  reproduces  the  home  scenes  of  long  ago." 
—John  G.    Whittier. 

TAYLOR  -  THE     WORLD     ON     WHEELS,     and     Other 

Sketches.     By  Benj.  F.  Taylor.     Illustrated.     121110,  cloth,  #1.50. 

"One  of  the  most  elegant,  as  well  as  pungent  and  rich,  specimens  of  wit  and 
humor  extant." — New  York  Illustrated  Weekly. 

"  Brings  you  very  near  to  nature  and  life  in  their  plcasantest  moods  wherever  you 
may  happen  to  be." — E.  P.  Whipple,  lisq.,  in  the  Boston  Globe 

"  Few  equal   Mr.    Taylor  as  a   word-painter.     He  fascinates  with  hil 
touches,  and  exhilarates  with   his    sparkling    humor,    and   subdues  with  his  sweet 
pathos.     His  sentences  glisten  like  gems  in  the  sunlight—  Albany  Join ■  rt<il. 


PUBLICATIONS  OF  S.   C.    GRIGGS  &>    CO..    CHICAGO. 

WHEELER -THE      FOREIGNER     IN      CHINA.       By   L.    N. 

Wheeler,  D.  D.  With  introduction  by  Prof.  W.  C.  Sawyer, 
Ph.  D.     i2mo,  cloth,  #1.25. 

The  simplest,  clearest  and  most  complete  statement  of  the  relations 
of  China  and  the  Chinese  to  Western  civilization  to  be  found  in  the 
English  tongue.     Ready  in  Sept.,  1881. 

WINCHELL-PREADAMITES:   or,   A    Demonstration    of 

the  Existence  of  Men  before  Adam;  together  with  a  Study  of  their 
Condition,  Antiquity,  Racial  Affinities,  and  Progressive  Dispersion 
over  the  Earth.  With  Charts  and  other  Illustrations.  By  Alexander 
Winchell,  LL.  D.,  Prof,  of  Geology  and  Paleontology  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  ;  Author  of  "  Sketches  of  Creation,"  etc.  8vo, 
cloth,  S3. 50. 

"  A  remarkable  and  powerful  contribution  to  the  reconciliation  of  the  Bible  and 
modem  science." — Literary  IVorld,  Boston. 

"One  of  the  most  noteworthy  contributions  to  an  important  branch  of  the  great 
controversy  of  our  day  that  has  been  given  to  the  world  in  either  hemisphere." — 
Montreal  Gazette. 

"  The  work  is  popular  in  its  best  sense — attractive  in  style,  clear  in  exposition, 
and  eminently  instructive.  .  .  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  it  settles  the  con- 
troversy."— Popular  Science  Monthly. 

"  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  there  is  no  single  work  in  our  language  which 
brings  together  so  much  of  the  latest  investigations  concerning  the  tribes  of  men 
•  inhabiting  our  planet,  and  their  distribution  over  the  continents." — The  American 
Naturalist. 

WINCHELL -SPARKS  FROM  A  CEOLOCIST'S  HAM- 
MER. By  Alexander  Winchell,  LL.  D„  Professor  of  Geology 
and  Palaeontology  in  the  University  of  Michigan,  Author  of  "  Pre- 
Adamites,"  "  Sketches  of  Creation,"  etc.  Illustrated.  i2mo,  cloth,  $2. 
A  progressive  series  of  papers  adapted  to  convey  to  the  general 
reader,  in  attractive  style  the  fullest  and  latest  results  of  scientific 
investigation  with  reference  to  the  history  of  our  planet.  Ready 
in  October,  1881. 


II 


